These Games We Play
by The-Passionate-Sun
Summary: "You said no, April."  "You walked away, Nate!"   April Hayden and Nate DuPont have always had a complicated relationship. This time around, it's really no different.   April/Nate. Rory/Logan.   SEQUEL TO THE CONTRACT RULES.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! My AP tests (Chem, Calc BC, and USH) are all done. I just have AP Lang on Wednesday but I can't really study for that, soooo….

Here is the first chapter of the sequel, which is, as promised, is titled These Games We Play. I changed around the ages a bit, just because the timeline would be completely skewed otherwise. This takes place nine years after the first one, but Will and Georgie are older.

If you guys haven't read the first one, please do, otherwise this might be confusing for you. The first chapter starts out kind of slow, but I'm just trying to introduce family dynamics and Georgie's character's personality. I have a story planned for her, but her part in the story will be based on you guys' reaction. So, I hope you like it, and please review!

OHMYGOD SMALLVILLE'S ENDING. I THINK I'M GOING TO CRY.

Chlollie ftw.. anyone see 10x15-Fortune? ASGDHFGHJKL.

**-AN-**

**May 2020. **

**Washington-Dulles International Airport. 11:30 AM. **

Georgie Hayden sighed as she looked around the Departures area. Starbucks over there, McDonald's on the other side, and a Hudson News that she and her teammates had already scoured for good reading material an hour ago. She checked the time again, but her Mickey Mouse light up watch didn't tell her anything new. They still had an hour to go before their _twice-delayed _flight was scheduled to take off.

"I don't even understand," she said to nobody in particular. "Is it fucking _snowing_ in Chicago? In _May?" _

Jennifer, the girl sitting closest to her, nodded her head in false sympathy. "I know, it must be hard. Not everyone is used to having to fly commercial and getting delayed."

Georgie wrinkled her nose in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Jennifer stuck out her hand. "Jennifer Isles. But you can call me Jen."

"Uh, nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Georgia Hayden. I know. Some of the girls over there," Jen pointed to group of Georgie's teammates, including her best friend Sarah, who were looking over at them, laughing quietly. "They mentioned it and suggested I should introduce myself, since I'm new on the team and all. That's what sucks about being a mid-season replacement, you know?"

Georgie scowled at the implication. "I'm not a rich bitch," she said slowly, trying to make Jen understand. "And, I don't appreciate that you implied I was one. So," she pointed to a secluded area a little far off. "I'm just going to walk away. And if we talk again, let's just pretend this minute-long conversation never happened, okay?"

"Oh, I- that's not what I-"

"_It's _fine," Georgie cut her off shortly. "Uh, I'm going to go make a phone call."

"Sure, sure, yeah, no problem," Jen waved her away awkwardly.

"Okay, then." Georgie said to herself as she walked away towards the empty area near the restrooms. She scrolled through her Contacts, and came across April's number first. In times of stress, whenever she needed to talk to someone in her family, she always came across April's number first. In a way, it was really helpful because April, no matter how busy she was, always had time for Georgie. Rory was either busy with work, Logan, or one of the kids, and Will was always studying, partying, or sleeping. April, who commuted between Boston and New York twice a week, was always a safe bet. She could be counted on to pick-up, especially if she was driving. Besides, Rory always tended to be unbiased in a situation, which got annoying after a while, and Will never really understood her issue. He was genuinely an awesome person to be around and he was cool doing anything, so he never doubted that people wanted to be around him for _him. _

April picked up on the first ring. "Hey, G."

"Hey! Are you driving?"

April groaned. "Ugh. Yes, I am."

"Brilliant, ETA?"

"Uh, two and a half hours? I just left Boston."

"You have singlehandedly made my day better in just the last thirty seconds."

"Wow, that bad?"

"Yes. I am stuck at Dulles right now. We've been delayed twice due to some weather fuckup in Chicago, and our flight's not going to be leaving for at least another hour."

"It's _May."_

"_That's what I said!"_

"Ah, tough luck."

"Thanks. Also, some girl I don't even know tried to become my friend by faking sympathy for me."

"Uh..."

"'_It must suck to have to wait here. You're probably used to flying to Milan in your own private jet._'"

"Oh. Ouch. You really are having a bad day."

"Sarah thought it would be funny to tell Jennifer Isles that I like everyone to introduce themselves to me."

"So it was just a joke then."

"Not a very funny one," Georgie replied dryly.

"No, probably not." April took a sip of her coffee and then honked at the driver in front of her. Traffic on the I-89 was always a killer. "So, am I expected to talk to you for the duration of my drive?"

"Yes. Don't deny that you love Bluetooth. It makes you feel like a super cool party person when you speak to the car."

April nodded, and then realized her sister couldn't see her. "This is true. Now, when I'm talking to myself, people think I'm actually talking _to _someone."

"What a world," Georgie giggled. "Technology hides the crazy tendencies of the general population."

"Thank God for small mercies."

Georgie looked around, and, seeing only the people sitting in the Gate 117A waiting area, leaned against the wall and then slid down, spreading her legs in front of her. "I'm sitting on the airport floor."

"Well, that's not weird, _at all._"

"Shut up. I'm just sick of being around so much red and white. It's irritating."

"Once again, I'm confused."

"Our uniforms? Red racerback and black shorts with our names in white letters?"

"OH! That's why you're going to Chicago."

"Yup, game against Northwestern."

"Good luck."

"Yeah. If we ever _get _there."

"Sometimes, that's how I feel about the commute."

"Remind me again why you do that?"

"Well, since Dad's in DC now most of the year, he doesn't have time to manage both firms."

"Yeah, but you're like, an associate," Georgie pointed out. "Why are you killing yourself trying to bend over backwards working at both branches?"

"Because I have clients in New York and I have clients in Boston, and it's a really great opportunity for me to be around the kids. How often do you think they'd be willing to make a three-hour trip _by car_ out of New York City with three kids all five and under?"

"Lydia's six this year."

"And even more hellish to be around in small, compact quarters."

"True."

"Exactly. Besides, I'm doing what I love and I'm in two great cities, and I have my baby sister to keep me company when I'm driving. Win-win-win."

"Don't you get lonely?"

"G," April said warningly. "Not now."

"April, I'm just looking out for you," she said emphatically. "You haven't dated anyone seriously since N-"

"_Georgia Katelyn Hayden."_

The subject of April's love life had been one that had bugged Georgie for years now. She wasn't celibate by any means, April was a successful, attractive, 26-year-old woman who was dividing her time between two of the most bustling cities on the eastern seaboard. Had she wanted to be, she could have been married by now. But, like many other things in her sister's life, such as April's decision to go into law instead of medicine, this was something that Georgie was not privy to.

"Fine," Georgie sighed, backing off. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you coming home this summer?" April chose a mellower topic to discuss. At least this one couldn't lead to disaster.

"Yeah, I think I might."

"Uh, Sophia's fifth birthday is at the end of August."

"Yeaaaah, about that."

"Seriously? You're going to miss her birthday?"

Then again, with the Hayden sisters, you just never knew.

"I don't know when I'm supposed to be back at school!"

"That is _such _an epic fail. Aren't you guys on the quarter system?"

"Semester." 

"So then at the _earliest _you have to be back by the 25th of August. You are not missing my Sophia's birthday."

"You do realize that _Rory _gave birth to Soph, right?"

"Shut up, G."

"_What_ever." She put her free hand on the floor and pushed herself up, into a standing position. Then, she called out to Katie and motioned towards the terminal's Starbucks. When Katie nodded, Georgie started walking. "So I'm getting some coffee."

"So, I really don't care."

Georgie gasped exaggeratedly, putting her hand to her heart. "I am hurt, April."

On the other end of the line, April rolled her eyes. "I can't see you right now."

"You're rolling your eyes anyways, though, right?"

"You know it."

"Soph's gonna have an awesome birthday," Georgie said seriously. "Whether or not I'm there." At this, April groaned, but Georgie kept talking over her. "But that doesn't mean I won't be. I'll check when semester begins and I'll be there, I promise, even if I have to miss the first day of classes."

"Good, thank you. Ro will appreciate it."

"'Course she will. She loves me."

"Yes," April deadpanned. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that her daughter will be happy to see you."

"What should I get her?"

"I honestly don't know," April answered. Her phone beeped again, and, checking the Caller ID, she saw that it was her most recent client. "Hey, G., I gotta go. My client's on the line." 

"Boo you," Georgie whined. "I was counting on you to keep my entertained until my flight took off."

"I'm sorry, baby sister, I really am, but I have _got _to take this call."

"Stop being such a workaholic."

"Yeah, yeah. Love you, bye." Click.

"Love you, too." Georgie said to a dead line. Bringing the phone away from her ear, she watched as the screen turned from her call screen back to her home screen. She had half a mind to call someone else, but figured that since it was a Friday, everyone she knew was going to be working. "Boo," she said again. "Now what do I do?"

"You know," A voice said from behind her. "If its entertainment you want, I could gladly figure something out for you." 

Eyes widening at the deep voice, she blushed and turned around. Standing in front of her was a tall, dark haired man with deep brown eyes and long eyelashes.

She had a thing for eyelashes.

He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button-down with a red Brown University t-shirt underneath.

Not exactly dressed like Logan or Nate, but he was geeky-cute.

She had a thing for geeky-cute, too.

Suddenly realizing that she had blatantly checked him out and hadn't said a single word to him, so far, she opened her mouth, blinking away initial thoughts. "Uh, hi."

His lips twitched. "It's your turn," he motioned behind her.

"OH. Right, yeah," she turned around, embarrassed. The cashier smiled at her, a mixture of amusement and annoyance, and she hurriedly placed her order. "One Grande caramel macchiato with whipped cream, an asiago bagel, and a packet of these," she pulled out a packet of Madeleines from the black stand in front of her. "That'll be all."

And then, horrifyingly, she realized she had left her wallet in her purse at the gate. She hadn't even realized that she was walked all the way over here with nothing except her phone. Again, the cashier waited with that same smile when she dug through her pockets to no avail.

"Can I just go and get my wallet from the-"

"Don't worry about it," Brown guy said. He stepped up next to her, recited his order, and then paid for the whole thing by slapping down a twenty on the counter. "Seriously."

"I am so sorry," she followed him as he made his way over to the other side, where a crowd of people were already waiting for their drinks. "I am not usually like that."

"Well, when you're on the phone discussing your niece, it's easy to get carried away."

"You were listening to my conversation?"

"Well, Hayden, when you talk so loud, people tend to listen." He wasn't saying anything rudely, his tone was neutral. He wasn't amused by the situation, just indifferent. Then, just as she had decided that he didn't particularly care for anything that had just happened, he stuck his right hand out. "Wesley Hammond. Brown University."

Oh, _fuck. _

Of all the Starbucks in all the world, she had to walk into the one that _Wesley Hammond_ had walked into?

She couldn't tell him her real first name. He already knew her last name, thanks to the fact that it was printed on the back of her red racerback, in loud, white letters. 'HAYDEN 14'.

So she had two options. She could either say her real name and blow her shot now, or lie and make something up and blow her shot _later. _

The choice was really easy to make. After all, it was a forgivable offense.

But seriously, who the fuck introduced themselves with their University name? Should she include her graduating class and her residential hall, too?

She smiled winningly, hoping he wasn't too disconcerted with the staring and zoning out pattern that she had already set. "Katelyn Hayden. Georgetown."

"Of the Hartford Haydens?"

Pause. If he found out...

But no. Right now, she wasn't Georgie. She was Katelyn.

"No relation, actually. I get that a lot, though."

"Yeah," Wesley smiled back. "I bet you do."

"So," she said as she turned to face the counter, taking a step back so she was standing next to him. "When do you think I'll be able to pay you back for the coffee?"

"I don't know, Katelyn," he smiled down at her, brown eyes twinkling in amusement. "Why don't you consider this our first date and then you won't have to pay me back at all?"

"Hey," she said playfully, raising her hands in defense. "I don't even know how old you are, Wesley. I don't know what kind of a girl you think I am, but..."

"Wes. Call me Wes. And I'm 21."

"If you call me Kate."

"Alright, Kate," he bumped her shoulder with his. Or tried, at least. The Haydens were tall, and Georgie was no exception. Her shoulder collided with his upper arm. "How old are you?"

"Are we friends now," she raised her eyebrows at the space between their arms. "What with the shoulder bumping and stuff?"

"I already asked you out on a date," he pointed out. "Friendship is implied."

"I see."

"How old are you?" he repeated.

"I'm 19," she stated, stepping towards the coffee counter, where her drink had just come through. She raised the bagel bag in salute, and then started walking away. "Thanks for the coffee. I'll pay you back someday."

And then she was walking out of sight and he was helpless to stop her because he was still waiting for his drink.

Wesley Hammond. Brown University. 21 years old. Son of Jonathan Hammond, Attorney General of the United States, and his wife Marissa, she thought to herself.

And, of course, let's not forget that most important moniker. Son of the source of my father's irritation on Capitol Hill.

Chris Hayden, since being elected to the Senate several years ago, almost immediately after April started college, had been the Senate Majority Leader for the past few years. And despite the fact that both were Republicans, John Hammond was one of the biggest issues Chris had to face.

So, you know, it probably was a good idea to _not _tell the guy who paid for her coffee that she was the daughter of his father's...well, _enemy _was too strong a word, but you got the point.

Still, he was kind of cute.

'_I think I'll go to Boston, I'll get out of California, I think I'll start a new life."_

She flipped open the phone without checking her Caller ID. "Hey, Nate. How's Dartmouth?"

-AN-

Next chapter: August end, Sophia's birthday. Do you guys want Wes to pop up again? We'll be saying Rory and Logan's kids, along with Rory and Logan, yaaay! As well as April and Chris and Lorelai. I'm not sure when Nate's going to be introduced, but be patient. Keep in mind, while Rory and Logan are in this, this story doesn't revolve around them. Just a warning to anyone who's coming here looking for a flat out Rogan.

Review! (:


	2. Chapter 2

a/n: so my AP tests are done! Just finished AP Lang today, and I totally beasted it. I love writing essaaaaays. yeah, anyways, I am brimming with ideas for this story, and these characters have made their own little world in my head.

anyways, a few clarifications: Chris is the Republican Senate Majority Leader, so he and Lorelai moved to DC, where Georgie goes to school. She is going to be starting her sophomore year at Georgetown University. She's the lively one. She still keeps in touch with Nate, which the rest of the family knows about, but April doesn't really pay much attention to.

April went to MIT and then Harvard Law (reasons will be explained). She graduated a year ago and now commutes between Boston and New York but hates it. She's grown to be slightly cynical with some very dry humor, which I'm sure you can tell.

Rory and Logan are married with three kids. Lydia's six, Sophia's turning five in this chapter, and Andrew's three.

Will's starting as a freshman at Harvard.

And, due to almost unanimous voting, Wes will be back.

_I am blown away with response to this story! _20 reviews, 20 favs, and 60 alerts. For. One. Chapter. That's amazing, guys, please keep it up! :D

**Huntzberger Residence, New York City, New York, August 20th, 2020. **

The problem, April mused, was that they knew too many people.

_Way _too many people.

Rory and Logan's home was overrun with people, with the older adults inside, either standing around in groups talking in the various rooms of the first floor, the younger parents outside, enjoying the heat and a barbeque, and most of the children upstairs, where Rory had told her they'd be playing some movies and having some games.

A little too much for a six-year-old's birthday party, but she knew that her sister and brother-in-law _splurged _on so much money very rarely, and when they did, it was almost always for the children.

At least there were no ponies. Or clowns.

She saw the couple in question first, standing closest to the front door with the group of what seemed to be some of her grandparents' friends, all casually dressed. His left hand in his pocket, right hand wrapped around his wife's waist. Rory, as always, was leaning into her husband, smiling brightly. Someone said something funny then, and she threw back her head and laughed.

Sometimes, when she saw Logan and Rory together, she wished she had said 'yes' to Nate.

Actually, it was always there, in the back of her mind. His name, his face, everything she could remember about him. Almost as if every day that went by, she fell deeper in love with him, even though he wasn't there. Maybe even because he wasn't there. There were times when she thought she was crazy.

"Auntie Ape, Auntie Ape," her sister's four-year-old son poked her, effectively bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Andrew! Babe, what are you doing here?" She exclaimed as she bent down on her knees carefully. She was wearing a cute, summery chiffon dress from Forever 21 and black heels that didn't make the job easy, but she managed, pulling her nephew into her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see his parents excuse themselves and start to make their way over to her.

"I _live _here, Auntie Ape." He patted her shoulder, clearly thinking she was crazy.

"And do your parents let you go near the front door when they don't know where you are?"

"You look _pretty_, Aunty Ape," he changed the subject, clearly not liking where the conversation was headed. He buried his head in her shoulder. "And you smell nice."

"Andrew, honey," Rory's voice called out to him. "You're going to ruin Aunt April's dress, sweetie."

"Let him be, Ace. April obviously works enough to be able to buy a new one, right?"

"Oh, ha ha," she glared up at Logan, not amused. Then, she turned to her sister. "Leave the boy alone, Ro. He's mine." To emphasize her point, she pulled Andrew closer to her, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. "Mine."

"You can have him. Please, take him off my hands. One less burden on my shoulders."

"NO!" Andrew looked up, obviously horrified at how willing his mother was to give him away. "Mommy!"

"What?" his mother asked innocently, one eyebrow raised."Don't you want to stay with Auntie Ape?"

"No! I love you, Mommy." He pushed away from April, who rose to her feet all-too-happily, and ran at his mother, who leaned down and picked him up just as he ran into her arms.

"Oof," Rory groaned, craning her neck to look at her son. "When'd you get so heavy?"

"Probably around the time he turned three. Don't start crying, now, Rory," April snorted, bending over slightly to massage her knees. "Oh, God. Those wooden floors are a killer."

"Well, they're not meant for kneeling on, April, that's for sure," Logan said, throwing one arm around her and pulling her in for a one-armed hug. She lost her balance and wrapped an arm around his waist to keep from falling.

"Really? I would never have guessed." Sniffing the air, she said, "Hey, you smell nice."

"You should think so, you bought this cologne for me."

Surprised, she let go of him. "You actually wear that stuff?"

He nodded. "Of course. You're my sister, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I guess I just never thought past actually _giving _the gift." She paused, "Wow, I feel special." 

"Rory's wearing the dress you got her for her birthday right now, actually," he pointed at his wife.

April raised her eyebrows. "Wow."

"Yeah, she looks beautiful."

He said it with a kind of reverence; that even after nine years, he was just as in love with his wife, if not even more so, than he was when they had first gotten married. Logan was lucky. Three beautiful children, a wonderful wife, and an extended family that provided unlimited entertainment when put in a close capacity. And, of course, the wealth. But that was last on his list.

"Nice, lover boy," she said softly, biting her lip. "Kind of makes me regret...Never mind," she shook her head, long, black curls flying everywhere. "I need some alcohol."

"No alcohol," Rory announced, watching Andrew run away after finally having set him down. "It's a six-year old's birthday party."

"With, like, five million adults," April said in disbelief. "What the hell, Ro?"

"I have some very adventurous pre-teens in this house, who will not hesitate to dare their younger cousins to drink things they _know _is off-limits. Never underestimate the power of Cameron and Louis when put together."

"_Lou-wee_ is here?" April asked laughingly, purposely pronouncing the young boy's name wrong. "The whole family turned up for this shebang, huh?"

"Actually no," Logan cut in, garnering April's attention before she could see his wife go pale. "He's here visiting his uncle." Behind April, Rory pointed towards the kitchen. At his slight nod she disappeared into the crowd.

He wasn't lying, not really. He was just...omitting the truth. A little white lie of omission. After all, she didn't need to know which uncle.

"Right," April seemed to buy the story. "You really need to stop referring to yourself in the third person."

"I will get right on that," he deadpanned. "But in the meantime, why don't you go mingle? Sophia's upstairs, probably playing tag with the other kids. You should go find her."

"Sure."

"And, where's your gift."

"What gift?" April asked innocently.

"My daughter's birthday gift. Don't play games, April."

"It's in the car, calm down." She patted his shoulder one last time, shook her head, and then took off.

Logan stared after her. It was going to be a _long _weekend.

-AN-

"Ack," Georgie squealed as she reached her mother, arms outstretched, a drink in each hand. "Why are there so many people here?"

Lorelai gladly accepted the can of Coke. "Your sister knows a lot of people. This is apparently what happens when you are an influential writer of the New York Times who is married to the head of a major company."

"I would never want to be Ro."

Before Lorelai could answer, April stepped up behind them, wrapping her arms around her mother's shoulders. "I'm suspicious," she announced. "They're wearing my gifts."

'_I think I'll go to Boston, I think I'll start a new life-"_

"What a tragedy, they're actually making use of your hard-earned money" Georgie remarked, before answering her ringing phone. "Be right back." She stuck a finger in her left ear and then started walking in the direction of the backyard where she'd likely get better service. "Hey, what's up?"

"Who is she talking to?" April asked her mom.

"No idea, I can't keep track of all of my children's friends," Lorelai answered. "Want some Coke?"

"I'm good, thanks. You know your son ate twenty dollars worth of ice cream yesterday?"

"To be fair, you were at Serendipity 3."

"Twenty dollars worth?"

"I have taught him well."

"Mot_her."_

"How is it that you haven't been a teenager for seven years now, but you've still got that tone down pat."

"'Down pat,' Mom?" April asked dryly. "Really."

"See, there you go, doing it again."

"What can I say. _You taught me well."_

"This is blasphemy. You're using my own teachings against me. I taught you so you could protect yourself from your _father."_

"Oh, you mean the guy whose working me to the bone because he's in Washington D.C. for nine months of the year?"

_Here we go,_ Lorelai sighed. "April."

"He has partners. The firms are not my responsibility."

"Babe, why don't you talk to your dad about this."

"You know, I would," she said agitatedly. "Except for one pesky little detail. Namely: he's never around."

"Have you tried calling him?"

"Do you want me to answer that sarcastically or genuinely?"

"Whichever one gives me an answer I like more."

"Well, then, neither."

"He always picks up when I call him."

"He loves you, Mom. _Obviously _he likes talking to you."

"Why don't you just go talk to him right now? He's over here somewhere with Mr. Putnam and Mr. Rice."

"No thank you. I prefer to stay here in the company of my mother, with my _non_-alcoholic drink, and pretend that my whole family is not hiding something from me."

"What are you talking about?"

April raised an eyebrow at her mother. "Since when does ten-year-old Louis Browning come and stay with Logan and Rory without either his parents or his siblings?"

"You clearly know the inner workings of that family better than I do; why don't you tell me?"

"Actually," April said, paling, her line of sight going past her mother's shoulder. "I think I just figured it out."

Because standing next to Rory and Logan, their grandson standing between them, were Lillian and Grayson DuPont.

The people that _would have been _her in-laws by now if she hadn't been a stupid, blind, overly-ambitious _idiot_ five years ago.

-AN-

She bumped into Lydia on the stairs.

The six-year-old was obviously hiding, seeing as how she was sitting between the fifth and sixth floors, and April knew for a fact that overpopulation or no, Rory had cordoned off the top two floors of the house.

The natural assumption?

Lydia didn't want to be found.

"Hey, Lyds," she greeted her eldest niece, plopping down on the stairwell next to her. Lydia just scooted closer to the railing in response, trying in vain to get her head stuck between the rails. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Lydia said innocently. "Why do you ask?"

She was too precocious for her own good. At least, as precocious as one could be when doing something immature.

"Well, if you're trying to hide, it's probably a bad idea. If you're trying to stick your head in a railing, well, I kind of always figured Andy'd be the one to do that."

"No one would notice."

"...if Andy stuck his head in the railing?"

"No, if I hid."

"What?" She had been expecting something like this, but the fact that it took Lydia all of thirty seconds to admit that something was up meant that something really _was_ up.

"Daddy and Mom. Whenever I'm downstairs I'm always being introduced to one of his friends or one of her colleges."

"...you mean _colleagues_?"

"Yeah!"

"So you're hiding from them?"

"Not just them. Sophia and her stupid friends, too."

"Hey, hey," April pulled Lydia's hands into her own, pulling the girl into her lap. "Soph's not stupid, okay? She's your sister and you love her."

"Yeah but all she wants to do is play tag with her stupid friends."

"So then you play too."

"But I don't wanna play tag," Lydia whined childishly. April brushed the blonde hair out of her face. "Lyds, you can't decide that you don't want to do what everyone else is doing _and then whine _about being left out, okay? You don't get to have your cake and then eat it, too."

"But then why get the cake?" Lydia scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"No, Lyds," April laughed. "You don't get to have the cake _with _you, and then eat it and still have the cake."

"I'm confused."

"_Yeah,_" April bit back a smile. "That's okay, you'll understand when you're older. But right now, you should get downstairs and find some of your friends or your cousins and go play something other than tag. Your mom said there are some movies playing downstairs. Maybe you should sit down and watch one."

"Maybe," Lydia stood up, brushing her denim shorts off. She smirked at April, looking scarily like her father. April didn't even think the six-year-old knew she was doing it. "I can convince _Louwee _to give me some soda."

"Uh, no," April reached out to grab her young niece's arm. "_Nooo. _No soda for you. Not from Louis or from anyone, for that matter."

"But Auntie Ape!" 

"Nope."

"Ugh, fine. I won't ask him for any." But she pulled her arm out of her aunt's grasp and started running down the stairs, yelling, "_Louwee, Louwee."_

"Lydia, I mean it! No soda!"

-AN-

"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could please have your attention," Logan called out from the stairway. Instantly, the chatter died down and all eyes were on him. "I'd like to thank you all for coming to my daughter's birthday party. Sophia's around here, somewhere," his eyes scanned the room, twinkling in amusement. "I hope."

"Logan!"

"Sorry, Ace," he said easily. "Anyways, we're going to be cutting the cake now, so if you could all just head to the middle of the room, where the cake table is, that'd be great."

"Interesting," Georgie turned to April. "They would lose their kid on her birthday."

"God, I swear. I mean, with the amount of people here, it would not be difficult."

"What wouldn't be difficult?" Will asked, joining them.

April ignored his question, glaring at him instead. "You owe me twenty bucks."

"Doesn't count. You were late, you had to pay."

"_You _were late."

"But I'm the youngest!" 

"So? A rule's a rule, William. Last person to arrive has to pay for everyone."

"Sorry, I'm not a hotshot lawyer who bills people $500 bucks an hour and works 70 hours a week."

"I am not a workaholic!" 

"You so are," Georgie cut in. "But not the point. The point is that Will needs to pay for his ice cream."

"I don't have the money to pay," he argued.

"Then don't eat that much ice cream," April shot back. "It's not that hard, Harvard-boy. Don't buy something you can't pay for."

"Why can't we just change the system."

"Good plan. Something doesn't go your way, change the way it works."

'_I think I'll go to Boston,-' _Georgie's phone started ringing. Before she could answer it, though, April grabbed it out of her hands and flipped it open without looking at the Caller ID.

"April, no!" Georgie cried.

"Hey, so I'm on my way but the GPS keeps re-routing me since there's so much traffic. Have they cut the cake yet?" A slightly-familiar voice filled her ear, British-accent and all.

"Who is this," she demanded. "And why do you keep calling my sister?"

"I- April?"

She froze. So Louis Browning had an international chaperone after all.

-AN-

a/n: in the last story, i separated the scenes with RL for Rory and Logan. This time around, it's for April and Nate.

Also, chapters will get longer, I promise. Let me just get some kinks worked out, and then we're good to go. I need to figure out pacing.

What do you guys think should happen with April and Nate? Any ideas for scenes?

And, should I make a twitter/formspring thing?


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: um, hi. please don't throw stones! MY PARENTS THINK I'M SLEEPING BUT I'M SNEAKING ONLINE TO POST THIS.

i have a really good excuse: I got a boyfriend.

i know. seriously. are you kidding me. but i'm insanely happy and he's so adorkable3 i'll be writing a lot more, promise!

* * *

><p>"Who are you? And why do you keep calling my sister?" April's voice filtered into his ear.<p>

Fuck, he thought. "I-April?"

And then, click.

She hung up on him.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen in disbelief. He had called Georgie, right? He took a deep breath and then steadily let his cheeks deflate, whistling.

Bloody hell. April Hayden, after five years.

Five whole years.

God.

His face was hot, he could tell that much, but he didn't know if he was red or no. He looked into the rearview mirror in a vain attempt to check, but all it told him was that there was a rush of cars behind him, and he needed to start going faster.

It seemed like only yesterday that he had gotten down on one knee in front of her, during his last night in his Palo Alto apartment. Neil, his high school best friend and college roommate, had gone out on the town to celebrate with Samantha, and he and April had opted for a quiet night in.

Well, as quiet as it could get when there was a marriage proposal on the table.

Nate remembered everything about that night. The way they were watching the Royal Wedding, since Prince Harry had finally tied the knot. How the living room lights were off, but the light from the kitchen fan spilled into the room anyways. How her hair smelt, how her skin felt, the way she laughed when he made his mocking comments.

He remembered getting up and going into his room, and coming back out to his girlfriend in the same position he left her, so engrossed in the television.

But most of all, he remembered the way she said she'd think about it. The way her face lit up at the possibilities, and then fell as the realities crashed into her. How young they were, the long-distance, the amount of time they'd have to wait. He remembered his heart breaking as she said 'I'm sorry, Nate,' as she blinked back tears, awkwardly holding his diploma in one hand and the ring in the other. The way she said, "I can't lose you."

The sound of her crying as he gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, April. I didn't want you to have to."

He barely realized when the cool, detached GPS spoke up. "Approaching 265 West End Avenue. Destination, on your right." At first glance, there was no parking, but he managed to squeeze his rental car (a black Mercedes) into a spot on the other side of the street, one block away. Not bad for New York.

He started walking towards the brownstone, hands in his pants, his tie flapping in the light summer wind, and when he finally reached, he pushed the door and it came open.

Inside, there was groups of people standing around with small plates of cake in their hands, some holding onto babies, others in business suits, like himself, most likely talking business.

"Hey," someone said from next to him. He pivoted slightly, only to be met with his sister-in-law holding her five-year-old daughter: the birthday girl, thoughts of April instantly shoved to the back of his mind, where they'd more or less taken up permanent residence the last five years.

"Rory! Sophia!"

Sophie grinned widely, the gap between her two front teeth showing. "Uncle Nate! You're here!" She stretched her arms out in front of her, reaching for him, and he gladly accepted.

"Oof," he said in mock pain. "You're growing so much!"

"I'm five now, Uncle Natie! Last time I was only four."

"Five," Nate nodded solemnly. "You are a big girl now."

"I know!" His niece cried happily. "Isn't it great, Uncle Nate?"

"I dunno, Soph. I won't be able to carry you then."

"But then you can just buy me a car!"

"A car? Why didn't I think of that. That's the perfect solution, isn't it, Ro?"

"Stop indulging her, Nate," Rory grinned. "You'll spoil her."

"Oh yes. I'll spoil her. Of course. Bad Uncle Nate."

"Very," she pulled him into an awkward hug, Sophia's body sandwiched between them. "Did you just get here?"

"Only just stepped through the door," he nodded.

"Still haven't lost the British accent yet, I see." She started to walk away, motioning for him to follow her.

"I find that it helps with the ladies."

"I'm sure it would, if you were looking," she called back pointedly. Impatient with the speed at which he was walking, she turned around, grabbed his hand, and then pulled him through the crowd.

"What does that mean?" His smile froze, April's voice, her face, appearing in his brain.

"Nothing. Sometimes, you just have to let people figure things out on their own."

"Well what does that mean?" he asked loudly.

She didn't answer, as they reached the rest of the family then, all the adults standing around in a group. Logan had Andrew in his arms; the four-year-old was almost asleep, his long, dark eyelashes fluttering closed, his dark hair resting on his father's shoulder. But he didn't really care about his cousin or his nephew. He cared about the dark-haired woman standing next to Logan in her short, brown dress, her eyes sparkling, her smile wide.

April.

"Hello, everyone," Rory cut in, grabbing everyone's attention. "Look who I found."

April's smile, the only thing he had been paying attention to, immediately disappeared.

"Mama!" Sophia said. "I found Uncle Nate. I pointed him out to you and everything."

"Uncle Nate!" Lydia yelled, from her spot next to Lorelai. She instantly woke Andrew, who looked up and reached his arms out for his Uncle. Within thirty seconds, Nate was sandwiched in a massive hug between Logan, Logan's three kids, and his ex-girlfriend's parents.

When they released him, he saw that her smile wasn't the only thing that was gone.

She was, too.

"How was England, Nate?"

"It was great," he said slowly, distracted. "Actually, I'm sorry, could you please excuse me for a moment?" 

-AN-

She excused herself as quickly as possible, unable to get rid of the increased beating of her heart. "Oh, my God; Oh, my God."

He was here.

What she had gone through fifteen minutes ago over the phone, with the memories flashing through her brain, and that need to through up, and the unadulterated feeling of pure panic, well, that was back. And, with Nate's flesh-and-blood appearance, probably here to stay.

She couldn't deal with it. Deal with looking at his smiling face, especially a face that looked so happy, smiling without her.

Of course she was bitter.

He left her. He promised never to leave her, and then he left her. All because she said she couldn't marry him then. Within a time limit.

Who the fuck cared when you got married, as long as someday, down the line, you got married? Having a ring on your finger only meant you were publicising it. Nate was an idiot. Even now, after being broken up for five years, she was still his. All she had to do was see him again, and that was it.

That was what love was.

Not some stupid, godforsaken ring that belonged to some old lady in his family, five hundred years ago, whose husband probably cheated on her with every single woman he saw.

Lucky family ring, her ass.

The worst part was, she had known, on some subconscious level, that he was going to show up. He was Logan's brother, practically, why wouldn't he show up? Over the years, she had managed to avoid him, and vice versa. There would be Facebook status updates and posts on other people's Walls or they would make sure to tell one of the kids that it was a secret, so naturally, everybody knew.

The amount of times she had gone to book a ticket to Washington D.C., only to cancel it after seeing:

Nate G. DuPont has just booked a ticket to DC! Can't wait to have some of Rory Huntzberger's famous take-out (;

She figured there was a logical reason behind not deleting him, after all.

Unfortunately, she got as far as the staircase until there was a hand on her elbow, pulling her towards the kitchen. His scent, Polo Black, hadn't changed, so she knew it was him. Nate pushed open the kitchen door, and left it swishing behind them, pulling her even further into the room until they reached the servant's quarters. This time, she pulled open the door and pulled him inside, ready to start yelling at him the second the door was closed.

But she really wasn't prepared for what happened next.

He slammed her against the closed door, putting his arms on either side of her, and then stepped up close to her, eliminating almost all room between them.

The internal panic was gone now, replaced instead with a mix of lust (who wouldn't want to kiss him then?), anger (did he really think he had the right?), and confusion (what the hell was he getting at?).

And then he kissed her, and she stopped thinking.

He pulled her away from the door, his hands going to the small of her back to pull her up against him, hers automatically reaching for his hair. One hand slowly made it's way down, fisting itself into his shirt, and before she knew it, she was trying to get his suit jacket off, and her hair pins were out. They were moving backwards to the bed, and it was all just too much, too soon, with her hands on his shirt buttons, and his on the back of her dress, trying to untie the tie, but it was just right, like she'd been waiting five years to somehow come home, and here she was and the pain and the anger and the rejection just didn't exist.

The sound of his cell phone, pocketed safely in the suit jacket, ringing, awakened them, and April pulled away quickly, looking horrified.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before April broke the silence.

"Oh, my God."

And then she was panicking.

" I- you- Oh, my...What the hell was that?" she asked furiously, eyes widening. "Oh, oh, my God. That did not just happen." She started pacing the room, expression getting more and more worried every second, "Are you even here right now, is this real?"

"I'm sorry," Nate said calmly. "I shouldn't have done that."

But he looked just as confused as she felt.

"No, you really shouldn't have."

"I really shouldn't have," he agreed hoarsely. The sound of his voice, that stupid, stupid, British accent, so close behind her, made her jump.

She didn't like being nervous, so she went with the next best thing.

Anger.

"Were you even thinking, Nate," she asked sharply, still facing away from him. He paused for a second, before bending over to pick up his jacket.

"Of course I was," he sounded surprised. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You just kissed me!"

"Stop acting so overdramatic. There was reasoning behind it."

"Oh, okay, mind explaining it to me?"

"Not at all," he responded just as sharp. "Schroedinger's Cat, April. I wouldn't have been able to have a conversation with you, otherwise."

And then he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him, seemingly unconcerned with his appearance or the woman who had messed it up in the first place. 

-AN-

Georgie accosted him on the third floor stairwell. "Where's my sister," she asked irritably.

"How the hell should I know?"

"Because the two of you have been avoiding each other for the whole time you've been here and everyone is freaking out waiting for the apocolypse, so if you could just fight and get it over with, it would be greatly appreciated."

"Georgie," he put his hands on his shoulders to calm her; she looked thoroughly terrified. "That won't happen."

"Of course it will, Nate!" she said desperately. "You guys haven't seen each other in five years, what else do you think is going to happen?"

"Georgie," he said patiently, taking the plate of food from her hands. He picked up a mini-sandwich, stuffed it in her mouth, and said, "Don't worry about it."

"But-!"

"Don't," he commanded, pushing her lightly down the stairs. "Just eat, have fun, and don't worry about your sister and me, okay?"

"Nate, I can't just-"

"You can. And trust me, everything's okay."

Georgie eyed him warily, but then bit her lip and made her way down the stairs. Nate, on the other hand, continued up the stairs.

Oh, everything was so not okay.

* * *

><p>an: yeah. Like, where the hell did that come from?

HE. also, check out my other stories! Pride and Prejudice: Eggs on Tomatoes With Toast for Two, soon to be updated. And, over on HPFF, Simplicity by The_Passionate_Sun. :D


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me! It makes me smile. This chapter also makes me smile, because it puts in a lot more stuff and really kick-starts the story, I think. I finally came up with a plot line for Rogan, but you peeps are gonna have to vote.

Special thanks to Julie Sue who went and read the Contract Rules and reviewed EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. Which means I have 300 reviews for that story. Thanks juliesueee!

also, i'm veryveryvery happy. I made a new friend, and he's awesome and makes me sandwiches. also, I have a boyfriend. and he makes me smile. plus it's summer. plus my writer's block is gone.

OKAY SO I have a HP Next-Gen fic. It's on Harrypotterfanfiction(dot)com and it's called Simplicity, if you want to check it out. My penname is, as always, the_passionate_sun.

If you'd like to contact me, I have a formspring! formspring(dot)me(forwardslash)passionatesun.

* * *

><p>The first thing Logan saw when he woke up that morning was his wife. She was sleeping peacefully, a small smile on her face. Her bangs were falling onto the pillow, and he knew that the moment she sat up the rest of her hair would follow, statically standing up on end. He smiled and shifted closer, leaving only centimeters between their faces, and then kissed her lightly. Her eyes fluttered open immediately, and she pulled away.<p>

"Good morning, Ace."

"It is if I get to wake up to_ that_," she mumbled sleepily, shifting closer to him. She closed her eyes again and burrowed into his side. "You smell nice."

"Soph got cake in my hair last night," he said into her hair. "I had to wash it before bed."

"Hmmm, how come I didn't know that?"

"You crashed, Ace."

"That's a good reason," she yawned. "Okay. I forgive myself."

"Good," he said, his tone low. "I forgive you, too."

Her eyes shot open and she moved so that she could see her husband's face. "You forgive me? Exactly what do you forgive me _for_, Mr. Huntzberger?"

"Well, Mrs. Huntzberger," he smiled. "I was _happy_last night. And you fell asleep."

"Seriously, Logan, this is about sex?"

"Don't be so vular, Ace. But no, this is about the fact that I'd have loved to enjoy some of my wife's _sparkling wit and humor_-" At this, Rory smiled and propped herself up on her elbow, her hand reaching to touch his cheek. "And she fell asleep on me. You can only imagine how disappointed I was."

"Oh, I can only _imagine_, huh?" She leaned in to kiss him, forgetting the fact that she had morning breath. After the week they'd had, no one cared anymore. She wanted her husband, and she wanted him _now_.

"This is a good morning," she said, giggling, as he kissed her neck.

"Isn't it? We should celebrate someone's birthday every day."

"We'd have to -mmph," she said, getting cut off. "Know 365 people."

"Ace?"

"Hmm?"

"Stop talking."

"Okay."

Laughing, he rolled on top of his wife, pulling his shirt off in the process. "I really, really love you. Just thought I'd mention that before we stop talking."

"You're sweet."

_Knock, knock, knock._

They both stopped and looked at the door, Logan craning his head at an odd angle. He looked back at his wife, who raised her eyebrows as if to say, 'Well, what can you do?' and then grudgingly rolled over, out of bed, picked his shirt up from it's spot on the floor, and then padded towards the wooden door. Rory got up and stretched, letting out one last yawn. The moment Logan opened the door, a short blonde blur shot into the room, ready to attack his mother's legs.

"Mommy, mommy, guess what?" Andrew asked Rory excitedly. At the door, Logan raised an eyebrow at Georgie, who was wearing a smug smirk.

She shrugged. "Breakfast was freaking_ awkward_. Do you know how much extended family we have? Plus, there are two people down there that really _shouldn't_be in the same room as each other."

"Auntie Ape and Uncle Nate are so funny," Andrew said. "Uncle Nate almost dropped his bowl of cereal when Auntie Ape walked in."

"Did he now," Rory asked laughingly. "Well, we'll have to have a talk with him about breaking bowls."

"Among other things," Logan muttered.

"Anyways kiddo, why don't you tell Mommy and Daddy what we're doing today?"

"Auntie Georgie's taking me 'out on the town'. I don't know what that means, but I _do_know we're leaving the house, just me and her, and she's going to buy me lotsa toys. Right Auntie G?"

"Lots and lots," Georgie confirmed. "That's why you're all dressed and ready to go, right kiddo?"

"Yep! Let's go, Auntie G."

"Wait," Rory cried. "Where's my goodbye kiss."

Andrew sighed and rolled his eyes, then stuck his cheek out so that his mother could bend down and kiss him. "Love you, Mommy."

"Love you, too, Sweetheart."

Her son walked across the room calmly, stood in front of his father, and lifted his hands. All too gladly, Logan obliged. "Bye little buddy." And then, with a kiss on the cheek, Logan let him down on the floor and watched in amusement as his youngest child followed his youngest sister-in-law out of the room.

"Don't wait up for us," Georgie called back. "We'll be out past six."

Logan just slammed the door close in response. "Your sister thinks she's so funny."

"What can I say, it's a family trait."

He crossed the room to stand in front of his wife. "So, where were we?"

"Well, there was something about sparkling wit and humor, I remember."

"And then something about," he leaned over to kiss her ear. "Not kissing your ear?"

"Ah," she shrieked. "I'm ticklish, Logan, you _know_that."

"That's half the fun, Ace."

Previous intention now forgotten, Logan crouched so he could get access towards her stomach, and then, wiggling his fingers, reached out for it. Giggling, she kept moving backwards until she hit the bed, and he followed her. She slapped his arms away to no avail. He was a man on a mission.

He had to tickle his wife.

"You're such a child."

"Well I'm your child."

"I have three others, as well."

"I'm aware, Ace, I've fathered them...I have, right?"

"Yes. But no, I was thinking..."

He didn't know what it was, but something in her tone made him stop and be serious. What was she thinking about that was bothering her so much? And if it was bothering her, why hadn't she talked to him before this.

"...would you be open to having another child?"

"I- What?"

"Another kid, Logan. I mean, I've been thinking about it a lot recently, what with Lydia turning six and then Sophia's birthday and now Andrew's growing so quickly! Wouldn't it be nice?"

"To have another kid?" he repeated slowly. "A baby?"

The words seemed foreign on his tongue, even though he'd been in situations like this three times previously. He'd never thought about it, but he'd always like the idea of three kids. With the American Dream.

A nice house, a white picket fence. The in-love parents, the three angelic children, nosy extended family, well-running business. And he had that, didn't he? _They_had that.

"How long have you felt like this," he asked confusedly. "Rory, you want another kid? Now?"

"Well not now, obviously. But yeah. I'd like another child."

"Okay, well let's think about this."

"What is there to think about?" she asked. "I mean, we have three already, you know how the deal goes. Logan, either you want one or you don't."

"It's not that simple, Rory. I mean, you've obviously been thinking about another child for a while, but the idea is a little new to me."

She buried her head in her hands. "Look, let's just forget about it."

"No," he shook his head. "No, it's not that simple. Because now I know you want another child and the idea is going to stick in my brain and these thoughts are just going to swirl around in there. You know how my mind works. Mention something once and it's in there forever."

"Logan-"

"I'm not opposed to the idea, Ace, obviously not. Anything that is a part of you and me is beautiful. Those three kids that we have right now, they make my day, everyday. It's not about...having another kid, it's about... god, what would the age difference be?"

"That's what you're worried about? The age difference? Look at me and Will," she pointed out.

"Exactly," Logan said. "You're married with three kids and he's starting his freshman year of college. I'm not saying what Lorelai and Chris did was wrong; your situation was different. But Rory, Ace, I'm just saying...can we think about this?"

She bit her lip. "Okay."

"Okay."

There was silence for a few seconds until Rory got up from the bed and walked into her closet. "I'm going to take a shower."

Logan perked up. "I'll join you."

On her way to the bathroom, she shouted back, "Oh yeah? Baby number four!"

Logan stopped in his tracks. "On second thought, I'll just stay here."

* * *

><p>Breakfast was, surprisingly, not awkward.<p>

Despite the fact that she and Nate couldn't look at the each other without the other choking up their food, everyone else was eating breakfast and chattering on normally. It probably had to do with the fact that there was a large amount of kids around. Aside from Sophia, Lydia, and Andrew, Honor and Josh's two kids, Cameron and Alexandra were there, as was Louis Browning.

"Na na na na na, you can't catch me," Alex sing-songed, running around the dining table, away from her older brother.

"Lexie!"

"Don't call me that, Cam, it makes me sound so girl-ish!"

"I wonder why," Josh deadpanned from his seat at the table. "It's not like I have a daughter or anything."

The nine-year-old stuck her tongue out at her father. "Dad-_dy_."

"I wanna play tag," Sophia piped up. "Let's run, Lexie!"

Alex glared at her older brother. "Now look what you've done."

The ten-year-old shrugged back. "What are you gonna do? Wear a dress tomorrow?"

"I'll make _you_wear a dress tomorrow."

"Oh yeah? Well, try and catch me." Having said that, Cameron ran out of the room backwards, wiggling his hands at his ears. His younger sister followed, running after him as quickly as she could, and, not willing to be left behind, Sophia and Lydia followed her. The adults could hear the four of them running up the staircase, screaming at each other. There was a loud_ thud_, at which Mitchum started to get out of his seat, followed by an, "We're okay! Promise!" and the sound of more running. Mitchum sat back down.

"Well," Will said, breaking the silence. "That was...fun."

"Whose idea was it to give them so much cake yesterday?" Honor asked pointedly, glaring at her sister-in-law's younger brother from across the table.

"Um, not mine?" Will answered sheepishly. Honor didn't look amused, so he changed tactics, diverting his attention to Louis instead. "Hey, little man, you don't want to go play?"

"I'm only eight years younger than you," the boy pointed out. "And if I wanted to go play, I would have."

Nate snorted into his bowl of cereal. "Excuse me," he said, without looking up.

"Excused," his mother answered. She turned to her grandson, folding her arms onto the table, leaning into him. "What do you want to do today?"

"I was thinking maybe we could go to the Paley Center and FAO Schwartz and then the Central Park Zoo and maybe, if we have time, we can go roller skating?"

"I can take him," Nate said quickly, seeing the look on his mother's face. "I'm not doing anything today, anyways, and if he wants to go roller skating, Mom, then you'd be hopeless."

"I'm not doing anything," his father said. "I can come with you, too."

"Cool," Will interrupted. "Can I come?"

"Sure," Nate sighed. "Why not."

"If you don't want him to go," April glared, speaking to Nate for the first time all day. "You can just say that and he won't go."

"He_ can_go, April."

"Yeah, but you don't want him to."

"I never said that."

"You didn't _not_say it."

"William," Nate said to Will without taking his eyes off of April's face. "I would love it if you joined us today."

"Um. Okay."

"There," Nate directed back at April. "Are you happy now?"

"Don't do it for my sake."

"I'm _not_doing it for your sake."

By now, the whole table was watching them. It would have been hard not to.

When everyone had come in that morning, they had made sure to leave two empty spaces at opposite ends of the large dining table, leaving the wet-haired Nate and bleary-eyed April no choice but to sit as far away from each other as possible when they came down to breakfast. Now, Nate, already dressed for the day, and April, still in the ratty t-shirt and old pair of shorts that comprised her pajamas, were only looking at each other. Their arguments, however, were able to be heard by everyone else.

"Alright then," Lilian DuPont broke the silence. "Louis, why don't you go get dressed, alright sweetheart?" The boy aquiesced, nodding to his grandfather, who got up too; with one last look at his favorite uncle and April, he left the room, passing Georgie and Andrew on his way out.

"Hi," Georgie said awkwardly, surveying her surroundings. "We're back." Both grandmothers and the Huntzberger family women were trying hard to hide smiles, and all the men at the table, Will included, were trying to make themselves look busy reading various newspapers and PDAs.

Nate and April, on the other hand, made no effort to try to stop glaring.

"Hey G." Her sister said to her, glancing up fleetingly. "Drew."

"Auntie Ape," the young boy said quietly.

"We should get going," Richard said suddenly. "Emily, shall we? Straub, Francine, will you be joining us?"

Georgie's four grandparents rose from the table, and, after their necessary goodbyes and promises to see each other soon, left the kitchen, Mitchum and Shira at their heels. The front door slammed shut a few moments later, and after that, the kitchen was half-empty.

"Georgia," Lily called. "I was wondering, since I haven't been to the city in a while, if you could take me around today? Would you mind completely? I've got to shop for some furniture."

_Why the hell would Lilian DuPont need furniture?_April thought. Unless they were moving to the city? Rory hadn't mentioned anything, though, and April knew she would have if it were important.

"I actually haven't been to the city in a really long time, too, Mrs. DuPont," Georgie apologized. "But if you want, I'm sure April would be happy to take you around town. She does, after all, spend half her time here."

It was risky, saying that, Georgie knew. But it could be the little push April needed to get back together with the sad, forlorn creature still sitting at the kitchen table.

Actually, sad and forlorn were probably the last two words in the world to describe Nate. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were blazing. If anything, he looked pissed-off and fierce. If she was seven years older, she may have fallen in love with him, too.

April's head shot up. She gave her sister a panicky glance.

Oh yeah, Georgie was screwed.

"Is that true, April? I thought you worked in Boston?"

"I do," she answered, heart pounding. "But ever since Dad got into politics, I manage both firms. The one on Madison Avenue and the one in Boston."

"That's wonderful! It must be stressful though."

"Not so much. It takes up a lot of my time, though."

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you from anything."

"You wouldn't be," Georgie interrupted cheerfully. "As it is she needs a break. And maybe, you two could even hit the shops today. The _real_ones. That sell clothes."

"That's a lovely idea!" Lily cried. "We should go. Are you up for it, April?"

Truthfully, there were a million and one things she would rather do today than go shopping for furniture with her ex-boyfriend/almost-fiance's mother.

But she couldn't actually say any of those, so, before she could stop herself, she nodded and pasted a smile on her face. "I'd love to."

Nate snorted into his cereal again.

Brilliant.

* * *

><p>"I'm<em> tired<em>, Auntie G."

"Drew," Georgie laughed. "It hasn't even been an hour."

"I've never walked so much in my life," her four-year-old nephew huffed.

She was right, though, it _hadn't_been an hour. After leaving the house, she and Drew had walked to the nearest subway station and had taken the train down to the Upper East Side. First stop: FAO Shwartz.

The problem was, with the amount of walking that he had already done (nowhere near the most he'd walked in his short life), he was tired. FAO Shwartz was still a couple of blocks away, and Andrew, though four, was a little too big for her to carry. Instead, she found a nice bench, one far away from trash cans, and sat down on it. Andrew clambered onto it next to her. "Is this what we came for?"

"No. This is us waiting for you to not be tired anymore."

"Well, then we're going to be waiting a _long_time."

"Why are you so much like Logan?" She asked him amazedly. "It's like the blonde hair and the brown eyes aren't enough. You're inheriting his attitude, too."

"What does 'inherit' mean?" he asked curiously. "And 'attitude'. Mommy uses that a lot. She says I have some."

"Oh, you have some, all right."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at the people around them. The businesswomen wearing corporate clothing and sneakers, the tourists with their shopping bags stuffed with things from Bloomingdale's and Sak's. Summer on the Upper East Side meant nothing if there were no tourists with Big Brown Bags walking around.

"Auntie G.," Andrew said suddenly. "I think that guy is staring at us."

"No he's not, Drew," Georgie said absent-mindedly, having moved onto her phone.

"How do you even know, you're not even looking!"

"Drew, why would anyone be looking at us?"

"I don't know, Auntie G., that's why I_ told_you."

Andrew's voice was starting to take an exasperated tone, so Georgie, rolling her eyes, looked up. And sure enough, across the street, there was a familiar-looking man waving at her.

"Katelyn!" he called out, over the New York City traffic.

"Fuck," she muttered, standing up. "Okay, Andrew, that man is going to come over here and talk to us, okay? When we get back to the house, don't mention having met him, okay? You_ don't_tell Mommy about this. Or Daddy or Auntie Ape or Uncle Nate or grandma or grandpa or-"

"Geez," Andrew folded his arms over his chest. "It's a secret, I get it."

"Okay, thanks kiddo."

"Hmmm. But Auntie G.," Andrew said curiously. "How come he's calling you Katelyn?"

Her heart stopped.

Oh crapcrapcrapcrap_crap_.

"Andrew, Andrew, Andrewandrewandrew," she said quickly, kneeling to the ground, grabbing onto his shoulders. "Let's play a game where we pretend that my name is Katelyn, okay? I'm not Auntie G. anymore. I'm Aunt Kate."

"Aunt Kate," the four-year-old repeated dubiously. "I don't have an Aunt Kate."

"You do now, capisce?"

"Capeesh?"

_"Do you understand?_"

"...that you're Aunt Kate, now?"

"Yeah. As long as that man is with us, I am Aunt Kate."

"Okay. Why are we doing this again?"

There was no time to explain the whole story now, not with Wes crossing through the traffic as quickly as he possibly could, especially not to a four year old. "I'll explain later."

"Okay."

"Thank you," she muttered, straightening. "I really appreciate this."

"What does-"

"It means that it means a lot to me."

"Oh. Okay."

Wes reached them then. This time, he wasn't wearing a Brown T-shirt, but the glasses hadn't gone anywhere. "Hey! Katelyn, right? I was a little worried that I was staring at the wrong girl."

"Yeah, it's me." she said breathlessly. "Wes, from the airport?"

"The one and only."

"I don't know about that," she smiled. "There might be a whole of other Wes' out there in airports, right now."

He shrugged, smiling slightly. He noticed Andrew. "Oh, who is this?"

"I'm Andrew," he stuck his hand out. "And this is my Aunt. She's Kate."

"Hi, Andrew. I'm Wes." Wes bent over to shake Andrew's hand, then straightened, facing Georgie. "So, this is kind of an awkward question, but are you free?"

Georgie lifted the hand that was clasped to Andrew's. "I'm kind of on a date with my nephew. But you're welcome to join. I do owe you a coffee, after all."

"You know what, that seems like...a good idea. Okay."

"Great, uh, I know a really good place for this sort of stuff."

"Starbucks?"

"Close. Serendipity 3."

"I love Serendipity 3!" Andrew exclaimed. "Wait, are we going to have to walk?"

"You know what, Drew, I can carry you," Wes offered.

Andrew looked at Georgie expectantly. She shrugged. "It's your funeral."

* * *

><p>She was going to<em> kill <em>her baby sister.

Until yesterday, she hadn't seen Nate for five years. That was five years of being single, of not having to worry about impressing someone, of not worrying about long-distance relationships and family expectations and where someone else factored into her life. Five years of sleeping alone, of not having someone to come home to, of not having someone to laugh about her family with. Five years of staring at his picture in her phone and pushing it away for some fling she didn't even care about. It was five years of _hell_, but she lived with it. She missed him, but he had made his choice. She had made hers, too.

And it wasn't the _wrong_ choice, or so she liked to think, so why was she being punished with this? With this beautiful, sweet woman who was treating her so nicely who should have, _would have_been her mother-in-law if not for one stupid, lovely boy and his horrible ego?

"What do you think about these curtains, April?" Lily's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Do they look at least a little manly?"

They were a navy blue, the kind that reminded her of the curtains that Nate had in his room at the Huntzberger house all those years ago. "More than a little, I'd say."

"Good," Lily smiled. "Then we'll take them. They should make him happy."

"What are you talking about, Mrs. DuPont?"

"Oh please," Lily waved her hand. "Call me Lily."

"But- I..I'm so-"

"Nonsense, darling. You called me Lily when you and Nate were together and now that you're not, there's absolutely no reason to change anything."

"No, it's not that, I just wouldn't feel comfortable..."

"You wouldn't feel comfortable because now I'm your ex-boyfriend's mother, not your future mother-in-law."

How was it that this woman was so straight and to-the-point. If April was uncomfortable being here, shouldn't Lily be, as well? I mean, even Lorelai was a cool person, but around Will's ex-girlfriends? Oh, even Chris couldn't get her to calm her tongue.

"Nate and I were never engaged," she managed to squeak out.

"And that's all his fault, I assure you. No matter, that's all in the past. But call my Lily. And are you sure about the curtains?"

"Oh, uh, okay, Lily. And yeah, I'm-yeah, good curtains."

"April," Lily asked amusedly, her eyes twinkling. "How is that you can you be so eloquent when inside the courtroom, but around me you're reduced to a stuttering mess?"

Oh _brilliant_. A stuttering mess.

"I kissed Nate yesterday," she blurted out. "And I have no idea why I just told you that, but I couldn't tell anyone in my family and I obviously can't talk about this with yours and I mean, every time I've talked to Nate in the past two days it's ended in a fight or in a really, really good kiss and I haven't seen him for five years but I'm pretty sure I'm still in love with your son."

Lily's smile grew wider. "Well then, it's a really good thing he chose Boston then, isn't it? And it's a good thing you're the one choosing his curtains, too."

* * *

><p>"Uncle Nate," Louis asked him quietly as they were walking. "How come I don't get to call 'April' Auntie 'Ape'."<p>

Well, that wasn't an awkward question _at all_.

Nate gulped. "That's... a really good question, mate."

"Do you have a really good answer?"

Nate looked behind them to see just how far off his father and Will were, then pulled Louis a little farther ahead. "Okay there are a lot of reasons for that, but the first is that she's not your aunt."

"She's Sophia and Lydia's aunt, though, right? And Aunt Honor is Sophia and Lydia's aunt, too. So, shouldn't Sophia's aunt be my aunt, too."

"No, because your mom and Aunt Honor are cousins, and Sophia's dad and Aunt Honor are brother and sister."

"But you're my uncle, right?"

"Yeah, since your mum is my sister."

"So if you married April, she'd be my aunt then?"

Nate paused. "Louis, why are you suddenly thinking of all of this?"

"Nothing. Just something Grandmother said about you moving to Boston, that's all."

Nate stopped in his tracks. "What did she say about me moving to Boston?" he asked slowly.

His nephew shrugged. "Dunno. Something about you finally sucking up your pride and making the right choice."

"Sucking up my...?" he sighed. "Brilliant."

"I try."

Nate made a face at Louis, and the young boy stuck his tongue off in retaliation. He suddenly started running backwards towards his grandfather, leaving Nate standing alone in the middle of the Central Park walkway. Nate sighed and pulled out his iPhone, pressing the button with his thumb. Instantly the screensaver appeared. He stared at his and April's younger selves for a moment, burning a hole into their smiles, and then put his phone away, let out a deep breath, and started walking back towards everyone else.

He had gotten the two of them into a stupid, stupid situation, and he was going to have to be the one to fix it.

That kiss yesterday had addled his brain, but one thing was for sure:

Shroedinger's cat was _very much _alive.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you guys liked it!

also, should Rory and Logan have another kid? If you're going to vote, could you kindly include at least one REASON? It would be helpful!

REVIEW!(:

deuces.

The-Passionate-Sun


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: okay, so I lied, don't hate me. I don't have a boyfriend. I have a guy who likes me who I like who lives 400 miles away and we're just friends because of aforementioned 400 miles. He and I are currently playing Chess With Friends and I am beating him badly. BUT PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. PLEASE. I'm sorry I lied! **

**In other news that actually relates to this story….oh, look, I updated twice in one month! When was the last time that happened? I forget. Anyways. A lot of you guys mentioned that you're confused as to whom the kids are, so:**

**Logan&Rory: Lydia (6), Sophia (5), and Andrew (4). **

**Honor and Josh: Cameron (10) and Alexandra (9). **

**Emerson (she's Nate's sister) and her husband (I named him, but I forgot, I think it's Tom): Louis and two other daughters who are not mentioned as of yet. Louis came with his grandparents to visit Nate since Nate's moving to Boston, and Louis is also Nate's godson. No, this is not really significant, since no one is going to die in this story. But there it is. **

**In one part of this chapter, I'm writing from Wesley's POV (I write in 3****rd**** person limited), so that is why Georgie will be called 'Kate' and Lily will be 'Mrs. DuPont'. Because Wes doesn't know that Georgie is Georgie. **

**So yeah, I hope you guys enjoy! And don't hate me. Please. Oh, also, **

**New York City subway, 2 PM. Approaching Grand Central Station. **

"Mum won't stop giving me knowing glances," Nate told his father on the subway. "It's disconcerting, to say the least." He licked his lips nervously, then looked down the subway car to where his mother was sitting, April on one side of her, Louis on the other. She looked up and, realizing she had caught his eye, winked at him.

"What are you hiding from her, Nathaniel?" His father asked him, amused, having watched the whole exchange.

"Nothing!" Nate exploded. At the curious glance of the other passengers, he quieted and said awkwardly, "Nothing."

"Clearly you're hiding something, otherwise she wouldn't be…disconcerting. Don't you think?"

"Dad, really? Can we lay off the condescension for a _day?"_

"I'm not trying to be condescending."

"Well you're not doing a very good job at," he paused, confused. "_Not…_being condescending."

"…Right."

The train started slowing then, as they were approaching Grand Central Station. Before they came to a complete stop, Grayson DuPont was already on his feet, and once the doors opened, he was one of the first people out of the train. Nate followed him, and they met everyone else on the platform.

Louis had somehow managed to convince Will to give him a piggy-back ride, so Will came panting down the platform, a lanky ten-year-old holding onto his back. "Get off me, you twerp."

"No sir," Louis answered, clearly happy with the way things were working out. "A deal's a deal."

"Oh for goodness sake, William, put him down."

"I would, Mrs. D., but your grandson won't _get off me._"

"But Gran, he promised!" Louis turned his wide, innocent eyes on his grandmother.

"_Down, _Lou," she ordered. Then, turning to the rest of the group, she started up again. "What do you lot want to do for lunch?"

Lillian DuPont, April realized, was a schemer. No one would expect it of her, considering she was in her 60s, but she was one of the sneakiest people April had ever met.

As it turned out, getting April to confess her feelings for Nate was the plan all along. Lily had known that April still knew Nate inside and out. After all, five years don't change a person when the one thing that defined them was no longer around. Nate was still the same Nate that April had fallen in love with, just a little more cynical and, if possible, a little more hard-working.

But he still liked navy blue walls, and that was all Lily needed to get April talking. And oh, talk she did. She talked and talked and talked about Nate as they went around the store. How confused she was about what she was feeling: anger at herself, guilt for hurting him, regret for saying no. The list went on. Lily had listened and nodded patiently, the spark in her eye never disappearing, and she had finally suggested paying a visit to FAO Schwartz, since they were so close by, anyways. Under the guise of buying a "little something" for the kids, Lily dragged her to the place where she had already arranged for them to all meet up. And so, in the middle of the stuffed animals aisle, April bumped into Nate and Louis, trying to find something cute enough for Louis' baby sister.

An hour later, they were all standing on the platform of Grand Central station, wondering what they were going to do for lunch.

"I'm not hungry," Louis spoke up. "And neither is Will, so can we go to the Central Park Zoo?"

"_Uncle_ Will," Lily corrected.

"But he's not my uncle!" Louis protested. He poked Will's ear, asking, "You're not, are you, Will?"

"Nope."

"See, Gran! He's not Uncle Will. Just Will. So can we go?"

"William?"

"I'm okay with taking him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Will, are you sure?" April asked desperately. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with us?"

Will looked around at Nate, his sister, and the DuPonts. "I'm sure."

Lily sighed. "Well alright then. But be careful!"

"Always, Mrs. DuPont," Will nodded, walking away backwards. "Don't worry. Your pride and joy is safe with me." He turned around and started walking, Louis waving back at them.

"What's he talking about, Mum? _I'm _your pride and joy."

"Oh, _Nathaniel_."

"What?" Nate asked incredulously. "I have to say, I've done some damn impressive things in my life, haven't I, April?"

She was so surprised at hearing her name come out of his mouth, something that automatically made her heart race, that she nearly jumped. "Oh yeah. I mean, Stanford. Full academic scholarship. That's way impressive."

"Come now, Nathaniel, you're not honestly trying to compete with your nephew, are you?" Grayson asked. "This is petty."

"I'm not…" Nate trailed off. "Never mind."

"Good," Lily said pointedly. "Now, where to for lunch?"

"We could go to Serendipity 3," April suggested. "They've got light lunches and delicious desserts."

"Did you get off their menu?" Nate teased.

"Shut up," she laughed. "I'm serious, they've got good food and great ice cream."

"Alright then. To Serendipity 3 we go."

**2:15 PM. Serendipity 3. **

"Lacrosse?"

"Yes," Georgie laughed. "I am one fierce lacrosse player."

"If you say so."

"I _do _say so."

"Okay, okay," Wes raised his hands in surrender. "I believe you."

"Good."

After they had met up on the sidewalk on Madison Avenue, Wes and Georgie had taken Andrew, as promised, to FAO Schwartz, but only after they had gone skating in Rockefeller Center. Then, she had forced the two of them to be her lackeys while she went around Sak's Fifth Avenue. She didn't buy anything, she couldn't, since Wes didn't exactly think Sak's was in her price range, but the browsing was fun, anyways, and it was nice to have some company. Male company, especially,mocking her for spending so much time in a store that had its own zipcode. Andrew had chattered on happily, talking about his older sisters and how they could be annoying but they mostly weren't, and Georgie didn't see anything wrong with that, so long as he didn't mention the name 'Huntzberger.'

The moment _that _bomb dropped, though, she would be screwed. She was seriously starting to doubt her decision to lie about who she was. Wes seemed like a genuinely nice guy who actually _interested _her. He was smart and funny and adorably awkward, and while he wasn't what she had imagined for herself (a distant memory of a younger version of Nate appeared in her thoughts), she found she liked him just the same. Now, after knowing him a little more, she wondered if he'd actually care about the fact that their fathers weren't on the best of terms. After all, she had only lied based on assumptions. There was a chance that he didn't know who her father was. There was a chance that, even if he did know, he wouldn't know the significance. Lastly, there was a chance that he could know everything and just not care.

He _had, _however,asked her if she was of the Hartford Haydens, though only with genuine curiosity, rather than snark.

He didn't seem too keen on giving out too much information about himself, now, either. Apart from the initial introduction that they'd had at the airport, he'd never brought up his wealth or his family's place in national politics. For all intents and purposes, he could have been just a regular guy, attending an Ivy League school on scholarship.

But he wasn't.

And unfortunately, that made all the difference.

"Kate?" Wes' voice pulled her out of her internal monologue. "There's no more ice cream left in your bowl."

"What?" She shook her head free of her thoughts, and then looked down. Sure enough, her bowl was empty and her silver spoon was clanking against the sides. Andrew, thinking she was playing some game, had joined in, and they had now attracted the attention of some of the other patrons. She looked around, smiling awkward, and said, "Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts."

As the other customers turned around, she looked back at Wes, only to see him smiling. "What?"

"You were thinking about me," he stated confidently.

"I was not," she denied incredulously. "How can you say that."

"You had this…this creeped out expression on your face."

"Wait, what?" she asked in surprise. "You thought…what? Explain this to me."

"I promise," he said seriously, almost apologetically. "I didn't purposely bump into you, I swear. I'm not stalking you, I'm not out to kidnap your nephew, I honestly wanted to just talk to you a little bit and in the process we just happened to end up on a date. I swear to God I did not plan this."

"A date," she repeated slowly.

"Yeah," he said, just as slowly, glancing at her and then shifting his gaze down to Andrew, who was happily finishing off the last of his ice cream, unaware of the conversation between his companions. "Why? Is this not a date?"

And then Georgie caught sight of possibly the worst thing that she could have seen at that moment. Her sister, followed by Nate and his parents.

Blinking rapidly, she turned back to Wes. "_No_! No, this is a date. It is a date, and I had a lot of fun, really. And so did Andrew."

_Andrew. _Her eyes widened.

Wes brightened, obviously not expecting this. "You did?"

"Of course I did," she said softly. Despite her family's bad timing, she _had _had a lot of fun. But now she needed to make sure that she and Andrew got out of there without seeming flaky.

And then Andrew came to her rescue.

"Aunt Kate," he said, tugging on her shirt. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"You do?" she asked in relief. "Okay, let's go." Then, to Wes, she said, "Why don't you go pay, and then I'll meet you outside?"

He nodded, smiling. "Sure."

She smiled back, biting her lip to hold back a full-on grin. "Okay."

"Aunt Kate!"

"Right, let's go," she said hurriedly.

Wes watched as Kate hurried off, her nephew running as fast as he could behind her, and couldn't help but laugh at the picture they created. He picked up his jacket from the back of his chair, scoured the table and chairs for any other personal belongings and then stood up and made his way over to the counter to return the check. He was lucky. This way, he could make sure that Kate never caught sight of his Black Card.

He hadn't expected to bump into anyone he knew though.

But that happened anyways.

"Wesley!" someone called out from behind him. "Wesley Hammond?"

He handed the check to the cashier and then turned halfway, just so he could keep one eye on his credit card.

"Nate DuPont," he said in surprise. "Wow. I did not expect to bump into you."

"Same here, not that it's not good to see you," Nate held out his hand. "Just a bit surprising."

Standing next to Nate, for some reason, was April Hayden.

"Hey, Wes!" April said, smiling widely. "It's good to see you in a different setting."

"It is," he agreed warmly. "It's also a little weird."

"You guys know each other?" Nate asked.

"Wes is actually the son of one of my father's…acquaintances on Capitol Hill."

"Right, yeah, they're both in Congress or something."

"My dad's actually Attorney-General, but that's just a technicality. I'm actually at intern at April's firm in New York. My dad's sort of taking a "two-birds-one-stone" approach. Get on better terms with the Haydens and try to get me into law."

Nate laughed, "He should just set you up with Georgie, then." His mother nudged him from behind, then, and he jumped.

"Oh!" Nate exclaimed. "Sorry, Mum. What am I doing? Wesley, meet my parents, Lillian and Grayson DuPont, they're in town from London until tomorrow, so we're just showing them around the city."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. DuPont, Mrs. DuPont," Wes stuck out his hand. "How're you liking our fine city so far?"

"It is very…eventful," Mr. DuPont stated. "I can't say I've had this much fun in years." April snorted, and from the gap between her and Nate's mother, Wes could see Kate walking hurriedly out of the restaurant, Andrew once again trying to keep up as best as he could.

"Thank you, for that, Dad," Nate said cryptically, bringing Wes' attention back to the people in front of him. "Are you here alone, Wes?"

"Oh, no. My date, she went to the restroom," Wes pointed over his shoulder. "I figured I'd pay and we'd meet up outside."

"We're keeping you!" Mrs. DuPont exclaimed, looking troubled. "Oh, that's no good. I apologize."

"No! No, don't worry about it," Wes waved away the apology. "I haven't seen Nate since we celebrated him getting the job."

"The job?" April asked.

"Yeah, the Mass. Gen. first-year-residency spot? They always a few open spots that they let 'bright young minds' apply for. Basically if you did your internship somewhere else but still feel like you're kick-ass enough for Mass. Gen., that's your opportunity."

"Boston," she murmured.

"It's not a big deal, April," Nate said to her quietly.

"It's Mass. Gen., Nate. It is a _very _big deal."

"Oh, my Lord," Mrs. DuPont exclaimed. "Your mother is on the hospital board! Marissa Hammond. She's the one who recommended Nathaniel. Is she the one who introduced you two?"

Wes shrugged. "He deserved it, or so she says. I have no reason to doubt her. And yes, she was. She heard from the grapevine that a Cambridge kid wanted to come back East, did a little research, and voila. The spot was his."

April's eyes narrowed. "The spot was his, huh."

"Yeah, congratulations, again, by the way. Now I'm sorry to be rude, and it was very nice meeting you all but…My date's waiting outside… I should probably go," Wes said awkwardly.

"Oh of course, don't worry about it," April pulled him in for a hug. "Have a nice time."

"Thanks," he said. He turned back to the register and collected his credit card, signed his receipt, and then, with one last wave, started walking back towards the doors.

"Just goes to show," Lily said once he'd left. "How very incestuous Society actually is."

She left the other three standing in her wake.

**265 West End Avenue.**

Rory Hayden was having a very fun, relaxing day. Her home, which had been filled to the brim this morning, was now almost empty. Her grandparents, parents, and parents-in-law had already cleared the house; Honor and Josh were on their way out now; Nate's family was out roaming, April and Will tagging along, albeit unwillingly in April's case; and lastly, Georgie had taken Andrew out of their hands. Which meant it was the day after Sophia's birthday, and all she had to deal with were her daughters and her husband, company that was altogether too pleasant.

They'd gathered in the home theater, armed with the DVDs of the Disney Classics series, on Logan's command. Despite the fact that the movies were generally favorites with everyone, to Soph and Lyds they might as well have been black-and-white.

"But Daddyyyyy," Lydia had argued. "These came out when Auntie _Ape _was a _baby_. And Auntie Ape is old, Daddy. So these movies are old."

She hadn't known whether to laugh at the fact that her daughter already knew the transitive property of geometry (or the basics of logic, whichever), or cry at the fact that her daughter thought her younger sister was old. I must be ancient, she thought to herself. And again, the idea of a fourth child popped into her head.

"Lydia, they're good, I promise. Daddy loves them, isn't that good enough for you?" Logan had tried in vain.

"Daddy also likes movies where people have guns and shoot each other," Sophia had piped up helpfully. "Can we watch one of those?"

So Logan had sighed and let them pick out another movie, and they had started the Harry Potter series instead, to his dismay.

Now, they were halfway through the third one, and both Lydia and Sophia were curled up in between their parents, their faces disappearing into the fabric of their parents' shirts every time something even remotely scary had come up. Rory was strongly thinking of turning the movie off sometime before the trio entered the Shrieking Shack, but decided against it. After all, her babies were growing up. Who knew when they'd be scared enough to curl up against her again?

Another child, her mind whispered. Talk to Logan.

She supposed she could talk to her mother, but for some reason she knew that once her mother got wind of the idea, she would whole-heartedly support it. And she didn't need support, she needed a level-headed list of reasons as to why it should or should not happen.

She needed a Pro/Con list. Glancing at Logan and the girls, though, she realized that it wouldn't happen right now.

Luckily, almost as if its sole purpose was to distract her, a text arrived at that moment. Her phone was on vibrate, so it didn't disturb the movie too much, but vibrate was loud, and she had to put her hands between the couch cushions before she finally found it and was able to turn it off. Logan looked at her curiously, and, after checking who the message was from, she explained, "It's April."

She slid her thumb across the screen and punched in her password, and almost instantly the message was on her screen.

'_I think the universe hates me_,' it said. '_Because not only is Nate moving to Boston, he got a job_ _at _Massachusetts frickin' General Hospital. _Also, he got hit on while we were walking over here, I can't even remember my last date_.'

Now, Rory thought, lips twitching, the fun would begin.

**AN: Just curious, is anyone starting to see a plot forming? Or multiple plots maybe? Or just…possible dramatic things that may or may not happen? Did I make things less confusing or more confusing? Is anyone still even reading this story? Please review, even if it is to flame me for my pathogical lying tendencies. **

**The-Passionate-Sun. **

**OH you can find me over on formspring. I am passionatesun, and I am the_passionate_sun on HPFF, as well. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own._

_A/N: Listen to _**Iris **by **The Goo Goo Dolls **while reading the first scene in this chapter.

* * *

><p>She waited until they were home, until Lily and Gray had gone upstairs to their room to finish packing, and then pulled him into the kitchen.<p>

"April," he said to her, trying to free his wrist from her grasp. He wasn't trying very hard and he was keeping pace with her, so she figured that he was just trying to prolong the inevitable, even though he knew that it wouldn't work. "Ape, come on. It's not a big deal."

"It is a _huge _deal," she exclaimed, not turning back. Instead, she started walking faster, and, as they reached the door to old servants' bedroom, she flung it open, pulled him inside, and then slammed it shut.

It was almost as if they had decided that this was going to be the room where everything important happened. It was slightly perfect. They were on the first floor, so no one on the upper floors would hear them, and they were deep inside the kitchen, so no one in the foyer or outer rooms would hear them.

It figured that they'd be in a huge house but there would be only one place to have a secret conversation.

"No, it's not," he said softly. He held out his hand for her to take, but she stared up at him, raising her eyebrows at his gesture. Quickly, he shoved his hand in his pocket, having the sense to look a little sheepish.

She buried her head in her hands, brushing back her bangs. "You could have _told _me."

He sighed. "There was nothing to tell."

"Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed throwing her hands up, her eyes narrowing. "You got a spot as a first-year resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, the number one teaching hospital in the country. Not to mention the fact that it's in _Boston, _three miles from where I _live. _You couldn't have just dropped me an e-mail? At the very least, a Facebook Wall Post? 'Hey, April, just wanted to make sure you weren't blind-sided. I'm moving to Boston, I figured you should hear it from me.' How hard is _that?"_

"Mass Gen wasn't even in the picture," he explained honestly. "A couple of months ago, the plan was that I'd be starting at Dartmouth, since that was the best offer I'd gotten before graduation. I hadn't even _applied _to Mass Gen."

"Do you honestly expect me to belief that?" she asked acerbically. "I'm not stupid, Nate."

"The only reason I have a job at Mass Gen right now is because someone heard from someone who heard from someone _else," _he waved his hands around wildly, as if to emphasize the ludicrousness of the entire situation. "That Dartmouth had gotten their hands on a Golden Triangle med student, and apparently I was in demand. Marissa Hammond did some research, got me the interview, and I bumped into Wesley one day as I was walking out of her office. Ask Georgie."

"Ask Georgie?" she exploded. "Do you not see anything wrong with this picture? There are so many things wrong with this picture!"

"Considering the fact that Georgie is one of the only members of your family that I still talk to, no, I don't see anything wrong with that picture. Anything you needed to know about me for the last five years could have been found out through her, _including _the fact that I would be here this weekend. I made sure of that."

"Since when it is necessary for me to ask my baby sister what is going on in your life, Nate?"

"Since you said no," he said, his voice steely. He clearly wasn't happy bringing up the elephant in the room, but she left him no choice. He still loved the woman, but that didn't mean that she didn't piss him off. "You said no, okay? I asked you to _marry _me, to spend the rest of your life with me, to move with me to London, and you…you just _no. _Just like that."

"Just like that," she repeated, her voice cracking with disbelief. "_Just like that_? You mean like how you walked away from me, _just like that_? Without saying anything except 'I wish you didn't have to'? You just gave up on us_, just like that_? You saw me crying and then you just walked away. You did the one thing you promised to _never _do. You left me," she said softly, furiously trying to blink back tears. Clearing her throat, she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her cardigan and then averted her gaze, as if ashamed at herself for crying in front of him.

He knew that she was ashamed for crying _at all. _

"You are not blaming this on me!"

"That is _exactly _what I'm doing, actually," she said easily, her voice no longer weak. In fact, her face was now hard, and, despite the glassy sheen covering her eyes, still very angry-looking.

"April, honestly? You gave up before I did. That's what that 'no' was. You didn't think it would work out. You doubted how happy you would be if you didn't do all of the things in your stupid plan. You were cocky enough to think that I loved you enough to put my life on hold for you, while you went out and did your thing."

"I'm full of…" she trailed off incredulously, her mouth open, eyebrows raised, a finger pointed loosely at herself. "Of course." Her hand fell limp as she looked at him, her gaze not breaking. As if sensing that he was going to reach for her again, she easily put her hand in the back pocket of her shorts. "But wasn't that what you were asking me to do?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked incredulously. "What was the big deal in marrying me?"

"I had a year of college left. I had medical school to look forward to; Rory and Logan had started a family; Will was a scared 12-year-old at Andover; my dad was running for office… I couldn't leave home. There was way too much going on, and honestly, I did not want to move to another country. Especially not one where I'd have to see all your ex-girlfriends and start to learn how to drive all over again and worry about it raining at random times throughout the year!"

He moved away from her, choosing instead to stand in front of the window overlooking West End Avenue. Instead of pushing the curtains back, he found the parting between the panels and stepped through them, so that he could see outside. The curtains covered him, though, so all April could see were his legs and the faint outline of his back through the curtains.

"What are you doing?" she asked blankly. Her tone, slightly defeated, let him know that she wasn't really in the mood for this conversation. Nate wasn't really, either, but there never would be a "good" time to get it all out, and now was better than never.

He tilted his head back and the curtains parted again, making room for his dark, slightly curly hair. "Hiding from the world."

She blinked, not that he could see her. "Uh," she paused, unsure whether to continue or no, fear of sounding like a smartass overtaking her need to insult him. She decided to say it anyways. "Well you're standing right in front of the window, so I'm wondering how well that's working out for you."

"Very well, actually. Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Oh, anytime, Nathan."

Nate acted like she hadn't spoken and said calmly, "You broke my heart, you know?"

"I broke your-?" she sputtered. "I'm sorry, but were you not the one who walked away that fateful day in May?"

"You said no, April."

"Yeah, but you walked _away_, Nate."

"I walked away because you rejected me."

"I never rejected you! I said no to marrying you."

"That _is _a rejection, April!" He turned around and pushed past the curtains and within five seconds he was standing in front of her. "I put myself out there for you. I told you that I wanted you and only you for the rest of my life and you rejected me. I know you well enough to know that you're not a cynic. You're surrounded by happy marriages, mostly, and you haven't really had bad experiences with guys. The only reason you would have said no is because you actually _did not_ want to marry me," he said resignedly. "Only girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with told me she didn't feel the same way."

"I did," she breathed, stepping closer to him. She put her hands on his shoulders and they moved of their own accord up to cup his face. "I wanted to marry you, Nate." _I still do. _

The atmosphere changed suddenly, calming down from the furious haze of emotions that it had been a minute earlier. She caught his eyes flicking from her lips to her eyes, and her heart started pounding. It seemed that no matter how many years went by, how many men she kissed in between, only Nate could make her want to smile and feel like throwing up at the same time. He started leaning down and she tilted her head up in anticipation.

"But you didn't," he whispered, his breath on her lips.

"I wasn't ready," she breathed.

Silence.

Then, he stepped away from her, and any hopes she had about being kissed evaporated.

"Exactly. You weren't ready. I wasn't ready to tell you about Boston. Honestly, we're not friends, we're technically not _anything _anymore."

"How about that I'm someone you have a history with. Maybe you should have told me with a little self-preservation in mind."

"Self-preservation?" He scoffed. "If you were into self-preservation, you wouldn't have even brought any of this up. You would have kept your mouth shut when Wes said all that about his mother's referral. But no, you must judge everything and everyone around you and somehow if people don't follow your moral code of honor then they are bad people."

"That is not true," she said, taking a step closer to him and poking her finger in his chest. "You know that's not true. Yeah, I was judging you, but that was honestly because I was surprised at the fact that you used your _name_ to get you somewhere. You have more than enough shiny things on your resume. You don't need the DuPont name."

"And you don't need the Hayden name!" he yelled. "But everywhere you go, it's 'Hello, I'm April Hayden. _Yes,_ from Hayden, Putnam&Rice.' How the hell can you preach to me about nepotism when you're the world's biggest hypocrite."

"Excuse you," she shot back. "I wasn't hired by my father, I was hired my Mr. Rice. I had offers from some of the best firms in the country, and Mr. Rice was the one that decided 'To hell with the world. If she's good, she's good and her last name doesn't matter.' The reason I'm so up there in the firm right now is because honestly, I work my ass off. Okay? And 95 percent of all the others in that firm do not."

"Basically you're saying that your father's firm sucks," he said quietly, his tone laced with amusement.

"_No," _she said heatedly, not bothering to lower her voice. "I'm saying that most of those people work as much they need to get the job done well, but there isn't any ambition to go above and beyond. _I_ go above and beyond."

"I'm sure you do," he drawled, one eyebrow raised.

"There is a _reason _I have two nice homes in two cities where the cost of living is extremely high."

"Yeah, you didn't pay for law school and therefore had no debt."

"Excuse me?"

"Most other associates are still working off their debt, for like the first ten years out of law school. You don't have a three hundred grand debt on your back because of Christopher Hayden."

"My parents had the means to pay for my education, and they did. I don't have to prove to anyone that I am a hard-working successful woman, okay? Some people have to work their way through college and they do it and that is great for them. Kudos. Really. But don't you dare say that anything I am today is because of Daddy's money. You can't be biased against me because I'm rich, you asshole."

At this point, he was provoking her. His actions went against his entire plan to woo her back, but he didn't care. Something about this woman, standing right in front of him, poking her finger into his chest like the self-righteous person she was, made him mad. It also turned him on slightly, but mostly it made him mad.

He wanted to make her as furious as he currently was. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that the sooner they got the fighting out of the way, the sooner they could start with the, _ahem, _making up.

What better way than to insult her where it hurt the most?

"Unfortunately, April, everything you have today is because of your parents."

That statement was technically neutral. Christopher and Lorelai Hayden, despite their rocky start, had grown to be two very successful people, both financially and personally. April had been the product of a happy marriage, and had been able to have the best of everything growing up. Anyone in their position would have pampered their children; it was a fact of life.

She, on the other hand, was taking it as an insult. She knew he'd meant it that way.

"Hi, Pot," she pointed at him, then to herself. "I'm kettle."

"Oh no," he nodded, smirking. "No, I'm actually pretty independent."

"Because what," April asked sarcastically, tilting her head to one side. A smirk appeared on her face, and she tucked her hair behind her ears before folding her hands across her chest. "You worked your way through college?"

"Actually," he said lightly. "I went through eight years of higher education on full scholarship."

"What?" she exclaimed incredulously, arms dropping. Her hands fisted, and he could tell by her pursed lips that she was digging her nails into her palms to keep from lashing out at him.

"I didn't use the DuPont name," he informed her with a steely gaze. "I used the fact that I was a Rhodes Scholar and at the top of my class at Oxford."

"Rhodes Scholar?" she asked unsurely. "How were you an Oxford Rhodes Scholar? Wes said-"

"I know what Wes said. But all Wes really knows was that I went to a Golden Triangle medical school in the UK and then I came back and started looking for a job on the East Coast. For all he knows I could have gone to the LSE. King's College, even," he added off-handedly.

"Do people even go to LSE for medicine?"

"I don't know," he said slowly. "Is that really what you got from all of that?"

"Nate, no," she said, crossing her hands over her chest again. "If you were a Rhodes Scholar, you would have known before you graduated Stanford. You would have known before we broke up…Oh, my God, Nate," her hand was covering her mouth again. "That was- That was what you wanted to tell me the night you proposed," she paused. Then, in a horrified whisper, "_That's why you asked about London."_

He averted his gaze and spoke low. "Yeah."

"That's why you were relentless," she said, running her hands through her hair, gathering it all into a ponytail and then letting it loose again. "When I suggested Harvard med, which you had already gotten into, that is why you were so hell-bent on going to the UK. That's why you weren't willing to compromise."

"Yeah."

"Nate…"

He shook his head. "Just leave it, April."

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't know."

"If you knew what you know now, would it have changed anything?"

This time she averted her gaze. "I don't know."

And she didn't. There were so many factors between herself and the man standing in front of her, she didn't know how they would have made it. Most of their relationship had been long-distance, and though she couldn't doubt that she loved him, she didn't want to jump into anything. She hadn't even finished college, he had been planning to go to London, which he had eventually done. She had grown into herself these past five years, not leaning on anyone. Her father, granted, had given her a job at the firm, but she had worked her way up and _fast. _Not a single person in that firm could say that she was currently working busily trying to manage in both Boston and New York because she was the boss' daughter. Rather, it was because she was the only one willing to work 80 hours weeks and sacrifice sleep and home and weekends. Maybe she was becoming a work-a-holic, but she had grown into a stronger person. If she had said 'yes' five years ago, she had no idea where she would be now. Maybe she'd be a lawyer, maybe not. She'd be living in London, most probably, and she'd have a dark-haired, green-eyed husband to come home to every night, maybe some kids.

But she wouldn't be April Hayden. She wouldn't be the woman who was no longer afraid to go places by herself, to stand up in Society and say she was a happily single woman who commuted twice a week between the two best cities in the country. She wouldn't be strong and slightly sarcastic, aware of how lucky she was.

Most importantly, though, she would have questioned her relationship with Nate every single day. And that would be worse than standing in front of him now, having this conversation with him.

Three days ago she had been telling herself that, if given the choice again, she would have said yes. Now, when the question was posed to her coming from him, she knew she'd have done it all over again.

"It wouldn't have changed anything, would it," he guessed.

She looked up at him, her red-rimmed eyes filling with tears. "It wouldn't have," she confirmed, voice cracking. "I would have still said no."

"So then none of this really matters, does it?" he said lowly. "I mean," he gestured to the space between the two of them. "This whole conversation, us being here, none of that matters, because if you had to go back and do it all over again, you would have still said no."

"I have," she paused, then continued in whispers. "I have my reasons, Nate."

Nate laughed bitterly. "Like what? You value your freedom? Who are you now? That's bullshit, April. You're barely even a shell of the person you were when you were with me. Stop trying to justify your bad decisions. You became a work-a-holic, but that was on purpose,"he said sarcastically. "You rejected the man who loved you, but that was so you could become _who you truly were. _Whatever. Who the fuck even cares anymore, April? It's been 5 years." He shrugged, shoving both his hands in his pockets. "Doesn't even matter anymore, does it? We're not together, we're not friends, we're not really…connected. And yet we are. Just enough so that we could go the rest of our lives making sure that we never see each other again."

"Nate," she let out a half-sob. "What?"

He ignored her. "So if that's the case, if I don't see you after you leave today-"

"You're _moving_ to Boston…"

"Dartmouth," he paused. "Dartmouth still has their postion open. It's mine if I want it."

"Nate, that's not…"

"I feel like I'm breaking up with you all over again. Isn't that funny?"

"Not really, no," she whispered.

He walked over to her, pulled her hands away from her face, and wiped her tears. "I don't think I'm going to ever stop loving you. And I just had to tell you one last time, that it still amazes me that I am the only one who can make you cry."

And then he stepped back, licked his lips nervously, and then walked past her and out the door.

She, on the other hand, walked weakly over to the bed and then sat down heavily, burying her head in her hands.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Will found Georgie in her guestroom. She was unusually interested with the computer, a gadget he knew for a fact she didn't use much unless it was during the school year. His sister, unlike all of the other 21st century teenagers, was not addicted to the Internet. She said she had a life to live, and she didn't want to spend it at a computer screen.<p>

"What," he stopped, leaning against her doorway. "Are you doing."

She looked up, and said matter-of-factly, "I'm Facebook stalking someone."

He blinked. "People are not usually so candid about that."

"What are you going to do," she asked plainly. "Judge me?"

"I already do," he said, stepping inside the room. Will walked towards the bed and sat down at the edge of it, leaning back until his head hit the comforter. "Find anything interesting?"

"Yeah, only I can't find _him_."

"Him?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrow suggestively.

"What, did you actually think I was Facebook stalking a _girl?" _

"I don't really think about who you Facebook stalk, to be honest."

She shrugged and rolled her eyes, trying to pass for nonchalance. "Yeah, I mean, I just, well I bumped into this guy today and we sort of went on a date."

Will paused. "Didn't you have Andrew today?"

"Well yeah, but we took him with us."

"You took our four-year-old nephew on a date with you," he said slowly, looking at his sister as if she was insane. "And you got him to not mention anything?"

She looked sheepish. "We took him to get ice cream."

"You bribed our nephew?"

"Kind of…"

He held out his fist and she bumped her own against it. "Nicely done."

"Thank you! Afterwards, we walked around a little bit and talked a lot and it was a lot of fun, but…nothing. No kiss, no asking for my number, we're not even Facebook friends! I don't get it. It was great at Serendipity 3 and then just nothing!"

And then suddenly Will looked interested. "Wait, you went to Serendipity 3 for lunch?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nate and April went there for lunch, with Mr. and Mrs. DuPont."

Her eyes widened. Oh, _crap. _What was she supposed to do now? If she mentioned to Will that she'd seen them, he'd mention it to April and April would ask her why she hadn't joined them and it would be a mess. "Really? I didn't see them. They must've gotten there after us."

He shrugged, not noticing any change in her behavior. "Probably. April did mention that they bumped into this guy she's been wanting to set you up with for a while but she keeps forgetting."

"What? Who?"

"I dunno. Some Wesley kid. Apparently his dad and ours don't get along or something. He's interning in her office for the summer. Sucks for you though, if you were interested. He was on a date, apparently."

"How do you even know this?"

"April is my sister. And she talks to me," he deadpanned.

Georgie threw a pillow at him. "Will, seriously."

He laughed. "She was yelling at me for ditching them and ended up describing in great detail how her lunch went. Did you know Nate's moving to Boston?"

"Yup," she said proudly. "He's starting at Mass. Gen. That's mad impressive."

"Don't tell anyone, I think April's jealous."

"No she's not, don't be stupid."

Will said seriously, "She is. I mean, all that stuff went down when they broke up, and the next thing you know she's telling Dad that she's going to take the LSATs instead, and then forget about Hopkins, she's on her way to Harvard. You know better than I do how much she's wanted to be a doctor, how Mass Gen was like…her ultimate goal. What if she just quit because she didn't want to compete with Nate?"

Georgie stared at him. "Are you actually insinuating that April walked out of the kitchen because she couldn't handle the heat?"

Will paused and thought carefully before he answered. "It's crazy, isn't it?"

"It's a load of bull, actually."

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her away. "But what about this guy you're looking up?"

"You know what," Georgie answered, scrunching up her nose. "I think I'm going to just leave it be."

"Leave it be?"

"Leave it be," she repeated, closing the lid of her laptop, the stark white Apple shining with light. "If I see him again, I see him. If not," she took a deep breath. "Then it was just one date."

"Well alrighty then. Just one date."

Oh, Georgie thought. It was so not just one date.

* * *

><p>AN: So, how am I doing? Leave a review!

Also, I have recently acquired a wonderfully lovely beta. I don't think she's on , but you can catch her at as iheartzukopuff. She went and read The Contract Rules and the first five chapters of TGWP, just so she could beta chapter 6, and I'll be sending chapter 7 to her in a couple days. She's awesome.

also, check out my pride and prejudice fic, Eggs on Tomatoes with Toast for Two. And, I'm on as passionatesun


	7. Chapter 7

"Logan!" Rory called as she breezed into the house. "I need your help!"

She was clutching a large brown Dean&Deluca bag full of groceries with one hand, and had a neatly wrapped gift in the other. Andrew, who had opened the front door for her, slipped past her legs, and she had to stick out her foot so that the door wouldn't slam shut before Lydia could get inside.

"Logan?" she called again. "I need. Some. _Help_."

"In here, Ace," he called from the kitchen. "I'm helping Soph with some homework." He appeared through the kitchen doorway just as Lydia finished lugging her backpack up the stairs.

"Hi Daddy," she grumbled up at him, not bothering to say anything to her mother. Logan looked to Rory in confusion, but she just shrugged.

"She wanted me to carry her stuff in. Clearly," she looked down at all the stuff she was holding and then back up at him. "That was not going to happen."

He grabbed the large bag of groceries from her, kissed her cheek, and then started walking back into the kitchen. "Why is there so much stuff in here. Lunchables, Ace? Really?"

She followed him, the door slamming shut behind her. "Well your son was about to throw a tantrum in the middle of the store, so I figured it was probably a good idea."

"Since when does Dean&Deluca even keep these things?"

"They don't. We had to go to Whole Foods."

"Whole Foods?" he asked with raised eyebrow, pulling out a box of make-it-yourself pizza.

She shrugged again, "They had 'em."

Her husband seemingly accepted the answer, as he placed the bag on the kitchen island and leaned his elbows against it, attention now focused on Sophia. "You doing okay, Princess?"

"Yeah," she looked up. "Mommy! You're home!"

Rory laughed as her daughter jumped off her stool and ran into her arms. "I am. How was school?"

"It was fun!"

Sophia had started kindergarten two months ago, after months of complaining and whining that Lydia got to do everything first. Now, the day before Thanksgiving, she was working her way through the alphabet, determined to learn everything there was by Christmas.

Lydia, so used to being first at everything, didn't want her sister on the same level as her.

And so, before the age of 10, the girls had a case of sibling rivalry, half due to their already-growing egos, the other half to their genetic ambition.

At least now no one could doubt who their parents were.

"Why don't you go upstairs and play with Lydia for a bit, huh, sweetheart?" Logan asked his younger daughter.

"That sounds like fun," Rory added, leaning back so she could look at her daughter properly. "Plus you can ask Summer to help you pack for our weekend in Hartford."

"Pack for our weekend in Hartford." Logan said, confusion lacing his words.

"Yep," Rory said, setting her daughter down. Sophia started to run out of the kitchen, and Rory called after her. "Would you please ask Summer to pack for Andrew, too, please?"

"'Kay Mommy!"

Logan waited for the telltale signs of Sophia's feet running up the stairs, and then turned to his wife. "Hartford this weekend?"

"Hartford _tonight_."

"I can't go to Hartford tonight. I've been home all day because Soph got off early and you couldn't make it; I have to go back to the office."

"It's Thanksgiving weekend, Logan," Rory said in disbelief.

"Thanksgiving weekend starts tomorrow, Ace, I can't go to Hartford tonight, I'm busy."

"I thought you took the day off!"

"No, I took half the day off, and that came with strings: I have to be back at the office in," he checked his watch. "Half an hour, max."

"Well I was not aware of that. You told me that you were able to go pick up Soph, so I thought that you had the day off and we could leave tonight. I went ahead and made plans."

"Ace," he ran a hand through his hair. "You can't make plans without consulting me."

"You can't decide to work on a holiday without consulting me."

"Work is different," he defended, pointing a finger at her. "You know work is different."

"Why is work different?"

"Because we established the rules a long time ago, Rory. And work is just different."

The use of her name took her by surprise. Angered, she replied, "And the rules, that you created, mind you, also said that I would be the one who would slap you in the face should you decide to become like your father."

"If I was anything like my father, Ace," he averted his gaze, understanding her irritation. His voice had taken a softer note; it was almost a plea to her now. "I wouldn't have taken the day off for Sophia. We can leave tomorrow morning, as early as you want, but I have to go back to the office tonight."

"We need to be there by 1 o'clock. No matter how early we leave, the kids are going to be tired. They're going to miss the whole thing."

"That cannot honestly be your excuse. They'd have missed the whole thing anyways, you know they're too young to have an interest in anything. We'll get there and they'll nap and then Will and some of his friends will take them out to Chuck E. Cheese or something. We're fine, Ace."

Rory was silent for a few moments, her glare unwavering. Finally, after he stepped up in front of her and rubbed his hands up and down her arms, she broke and melted into him. "Fine. Go."

"Thank you," he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm not happy about this," she grumbled.

"I wouldn't expect you to be."

"Hmph."

"Ace," he tilted her chin up. "Come on now, you can't be that mad."

"No," she smiled softly. It didn't reach her eyes, though, and Logan noticed. "Of course I'm not."

"I'll make this up to you and the kids," he promised, pulling away from her. He really wanted to kiss her goodbye, but she was clearly unhappy with him. Rather than the feel the rejection from her lips, he chose to just walk away and look forward to the make-up sex that followed any fight of theirs, no matter how small.

"Tomorrow morning," she repeated after him as he started to walk out of the kitchen. "Seriously, Logan. We're out of here by 9 AM."

"Ask and thou shalt recieve!" he called back over his shoulder.

"Good! Because you're driving!"

"We'll see."

"No, Logan, you're driving!"

Silence.

"Logan?"

The front door slammed shut.

Of_ course_.

* * *

><p>"Explain to me why I let you ride with me, again?" April snuck a glance at her brother. He was continuously tapping his hand against the handrest on the car door, and the tapping was starting to annoy her. The radio was on and her favorite song was playing, and Will's noise was interrupting the chorus.<p>

"Because we live in the same city and you don't like to make your carbon footprint any larger than need be."

"Technically it wouldn't be my carbon footprint though, it would be your carbon footprint."

"Which _you_ could have made smaller."

"Hmm," she hummed in agreement. "True."

They were silent for a few more moments until Will, restless as he was, finally reached over and turned off the radio. "We need to talk," he blurted out.

April's eyebrows went high, high up into her forehead. She'd grown her bangs out now, but six months ago, her right eyebrow would have disappeared beneath the sideswept short hair over her forehead. "Excuse me?"

"You're the only one I trust to talk to right now."

"Will? What's going?" she asked worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"I... don't know," he rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. "I'm just...god there is so much going on. I don't know if I can take it."

"What are you talking about?" she snuck another glance at him.

"College! I feel like the people are all the same, douchebags with a sense of entitlement, pretty girls who are there on Daddy's money. My classes are overwhelming, I feel like I can't breath, and if I'm not careful, I feel like I'm just going to get lost in it all."

"Will," she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's normal."

"It is?"

"Yeah. Harvard is an extremely different environment. If you look, though, you can find people to keep you sane. There are always going to be pretentious, entitled douchebags, pretty girls who don't deserve to be there, and the parties and one-night-stands and stuff. You have to be able to not forget yourself."

"I feel so stupid. It's like- I lived through high school without doing anything I didn't want to. No peer pressure involved. I drank some, yeah. Dad was okay with it. But now there are drugs and mixing cocktails and bars and clubs and god, what the fuck, does anyone actually _study_?"

"Do _you_ study?"

"Yeah."

"And do you leave time for yourself to do what you want to do?"

"I try to watch a movie every weekend and I go for an hour-long run every other day."

"By yourself?"

"Well, I try."

"How many units this quarter?"

"25."

She almost stopped the car. "Will! _Why_?"

"The classes appealed to me," he said sheepishly.

"Oh my God. Kiddo, why?"

"I just...I don't...know..."

"Will you need to cut back, okay? You can't just overload yourself like that, you'll be burned out by the time you finish your freshman year."

"Fine."

"And another thing," she said, putting both hands firmly on the wheel to look at him. "You need to be very-"

"April look out!" he exclaimed. She whipped her hair back to see a car swerving into their lane and turned the steering wheel to the right. They were on the sidewalk in less than three seconds, the rogue car occupying their previous space in the right lane. She tried to turn back onto the road but suddenly there was a BANG and then a POP. They were on the road again, but she couldn't break, and then they were slowing down, down, down, stopping, and the smell of burnt rubber filled the air.

"Oh, my God," April said, heart pounding. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, turning white, and Will was leaning back against the seat, one hand gripping his sister's thigh, the other holding onto the side handrest. "Oh, my God." Their eyes wide, they turned to face each other. April was out of breath, her mouth open in an effort to breath, but Will could see that it wasn't working.

"What just happened," he asked plainly, frozen in place, staring at his sister.

"I think I broke my car."

"I think you almost broke us."

"Will, I am so sorry," her voice cracked as she finally inhaled.

"What? No, April! It wasn't your fault."

"Will," she breathed, the panic settling into her stomach. "I almost killed us."

"No, April, you didn't."

"Oh, my God. I broke the car. Oh, my God." She put one hand over her heart and breathed in deeply, trying to dispel the panic that was settling in her heart and the nerves that were settling in her stomach.

Will breathed in deeply and then let out one big gush of air. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, and looked down into the street. Seeing the growing trickle of water, he gingerly stepped out of the car and looked up.

Apparently the car was not the only thing that April had broken.

There was water spouting up into the nearby trees from the fire hydrant, or what had been the fire hydrant, going up nearly 70 feet as far as he could tell. He looked around the street for the rest of the damage, but all he could find was a broken piece of the right front tire, and a large part of the fender. The car behind them had stopped as soon as April had swerved, apparently, as it was parked a good 50 feet away. The woman in the driver's seat was walking towards them, and Will could see the her outline growing closer and closer, a phone stuck to her ear.

"I called 911 already, don't worry," the stranger called as she reached him, soon after she hung up the phone. "And I mentioned the rogue car, so I think you're all clear."

"That's...thank you," Will said. "I- oh God."

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah," Will shook his head. "A little shaken up but I don't think I broke anything."

"Were you the driver?"

"No," he scratched the back of his neck. "My sister, she's sitting in the car right now." He scrunched his head, trying to make sense of the whole situation. "I think she's having a mental breakdown."

"I don't blame her," the woman said, looking around. Her gaze went downward, and he could see her examining her fancy, jewel-adorned sandals, checking to see how wet they were. The water was by their ankles now. She looked up then, flashing him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Er, the cops should be getting here any minute. Is there anyone you need me to call for you?"

"No, no, thanks."

"Are you sure? You two are going to need check-ups and stuff, you're going to need someone to take you."

Crap. They _would_ need check-ups. They were also going to have to deal with the police and the insurance company, and they'd probably have to figure out a way to get the car towed. And, of course, April was going to have to pay for the fire hydrant.

But the check-ups were most important. For all he knew, they could have hit their heads against the backs of the seats hard enough to cause concussions, or worse.

What to do, what to _do_?

His phone beeped, and the answer came to him in a flash.

'_About to leave from the hospital to go to your parents' place. How's traffic_?' Nate texted.

Nate. His _doctor_ friend. Thank you, God, he thought.

"Actually," he held up his phone. "I just have to make a quick call. A friend of mine just got off his shift at Mass Gen, so..."

"Okay, so you're covered?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"No problem," she smiled slightly again. "I was just, you know, worried. It looked..._bad_."

His heart skipped a beat, but he figured that was just because of the surreality of the whole situation, and the fact that he had almost been seriously injured. However, the fact that his sister was sitting in the car, panicking, didn't stop him from seriously noticing the tall, slim brunette flashing him a smile. She looked to be about his age, and she was wearing a Harvard sweatshirt over a pair of shorts, so she was either intelligent or taken.

Either way, it was appealing. And yeah, he knew that made him a douchebag.

"Thank you for caring."

"Basic human nature," she replied warmly. "I'm Isobel, by the way."

"Will," he stuck his hand out. "It's nice to meet you."

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

"Well, under these circumstances?" she said, eyeing the area. "Yeah, you are."

"It would have been nicer to meet you on campus, but I guess I'll take what I can get."

"Are you hitting on me?" she asked, slightly taken aback. The amusement showed on her face, though, so he knew he couldn't have made too bad of an impression.

"Is it unwelcome?"

A cop car pulled up then, of all the moments, and she was spared from having to reply. The cop got out of the car, and started walking towards them. "Is anyone seriously hurt? What happened?"

"Why don't you go call your doctor friend and I'll tell the cops everything I saw?"

"Alright. I'm going to go get my sister."

He slid his finger across Nate's name in his messaging archive, and the call was instantly put through. Three rings later, the older man picked up. "Wow traffic's _that_ bad?"

"We kind of had an accident," Will cut to the chase.

"_What_?"

"April and I...we were driving and there was this, like, rogue car, and I don't even know we were in the sidewalk and then we weren't and there was burnt tire and now the street is flooding and oh, God, April won't stop crying?" The reality of the situatation was finally hitting him, and the word vomit flew out of his mouth.

"April's crying?"

"She's pretty shaken up."

"How are you?"

"Pretty shaken up."

"I'm on my way," Nate said worriedly. "Where are you? Have you guys had any medical attention? What about the cops?"

"Yeah, that's why I called you. Can you give us a ride to Mass Gen?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, William."

Since the summer, Nate and Will had had a nice, long talk. Unlike Georgie, Will hadn't kept in touch with Nate after the big break-up; he'd had no reason to. He'd always been more attached to Logan, and Nate, while a favorite of his, was always dispensable for his sister. Nate, in turn, had felt that talking to Georgie and Rory was already too much of a betrayal for April, and had made no effort to talk to Will at all. When Will had tagged along with Nate, Grayson, and Louis in New York, Nate had minded. Not because he had anything against Will, but because it was going to be awkward. It hadn't been, because they'd had the added presence of a bouncy, energetic ten-year-old, and it had been a good start to forming an actual friendship. They'd kept in touch in the months since then. Will because he could already sense that something was changing between April and Nate, and Nate because, well, Will was slightly awesome.

Will quickly informed him of their whereabouts and then walked back over to the car, where he found his red-eyed, splotchy-faced sister who, luckily, was no longer panicking. Instead, she was looking as composed as she could and was giving the officer the full story, and Will could see Isobel was adding information wherever she could.

In minutes, there was a whole crew on the street, all working to stop the water flow. He took out his phone again and snapped a couple of pictures of the waterfall and the car, and then looked out for Nate's car. Before it appeared, though, they gathered all of their stuff from April's car and put it in Isobel's, so that the towing company could take their's to the shop. April went to go sit in Isobel's car and called her insurance agent and a rental company, and Isobel joined Will on the curb.

"Why are you sticking around?" he asked her, his eyes on his sister.

"I have this..._thing_, tonight that I don't really want to go to."

"Oh, so we're just your excuse?"

"Exactly. I'm not the Good Samaritan you make me out to be."

"Well, consider me disillusioned."

Conversation broke for a moment as Nate finally walked onto the scene, his eyes immediately latching onto Will's. Will nodded towards the car, and Nate strode over to Isobel's driver's side window and tapped hard, making April look up from her credit card. She looked down again to finish reciting her credit card information, and then quickly opened the door as Nate stepped back. They exchanged a few words, Nate looked angry, most likely at the fact that she had put herself in harm's way, and April looked slightly fearful, as if she was about to collapse again.

And then she did, launching herself into his arms, burying her face in his chest. He looked extremely surprised, as if he expected her to start yelling at him again. Carefully, he pulled her closer and started rubbing her shoulders in comfort.

"_Aw_," Isobel said. "How long have they been together."

Will stared at them. "They broke up five years ago."

She looked at him. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not, I swear. Go ask them!"

"That is so sad," she said, subdued.

"Oh, God, you're one of _those_."

"I am not a sappy romantic!"

"How did you know that was what I meant by 'those'?" Will smirked.

She narrowed her eyes. "Shut up."

"Okay," Will said, standing up. Nate and April had broken apart, and they were sending him the universal gesture for 'let's go'. "I have to go."

"Right, of course," she said, standing up too. "I hope you have no head injuries."

"I hope so too," he joked.

"Do you go to Harvard?" she blurted out. "I mean, it's a slightly obnoxious question to ask, but-"

"I do," he interruped. "I'm a freshman."

She brightened. "Me too!"

Will grinned, ignoring Nate's call. "Cool. So I'll see you around?"

Her smile dimmed slightly, "Of course, yeah."

She stared at him for a few seconds, as if waiting to see if he'd say anything else, but he didn't. Finally, she just started walking backwards. "So, I'm gonna go now, I think you're sister's taken all of her stuff out of my car, so..."

He laughed. "Isobel, I'm just kidding. Can I have your number?"

"Oh thank God!" she exclaimed. Then, she said seriously, "Not funny, though. Not amused, at all."

He grinned and handed her his phone.

Good day.

In spite of the car crash and all.

* * *

><p>They ended up missing the Thanksgiving party that Lorelai and Chris were throwing.<p>

All of them.

Well, except Georgie.

Logan had actually tried to come home from the office early so that he could get a good night's sleep and be ready to drive in the morning, but Andrew woke up that morning with a fever. They'd both agreed that there was no way they'd be transporting their feverish youngest child across the state border in New York City traffic. The drive, which was normally only two and a half hours, would be four-hours-long since it was Thanksgiving weekend, and there was no way that any of the Huntzbergers would be able to survive with Andrew sick. Instead, Rory had made chicken nuggets and they'd all curled up together to watch a movie, the girls on either sides of their parents, and Andrew in the middle. Thanksgiving hadn't been a big production, but it had become one of the many memories that the kids would look back upon as they grew older, and if, as they grew older, they could give thanks to the fact that they'd had a childhood like this, she would happy with that, turkey or no.

April, Nate, and Will were help up at the hospital. The Emergency Room waiting list was ridiculously long, and even though Nate worked there, it didn't make much of a difference. They got bumped up the line a little, taking an hour or so off their wait time, but the majority of the day was spent in uncomfortable plastic waiting-room chairs, with April's head on Nate's shoulder, and Will's head in his hands. Sometime after they left the 'scene of the crime', as he liked to call it, his head had started pounding. He figured it was because he'd probably hit his head on the car ceiling.

Sure enough, once they were examined, they were told they had concussions. They couldn't sleep for more than two hours at a time, and were advised not to drive for the next couple of days.

So Nate made a quick call to Samantha, filled her in on the situtation, and then dropped April off at Sam's place. April hesitated before she got out of the car, so Will excused himself to go to the bathroom, and practically ran up Sam's driveway.

Nate broke the silence first. "It's okay to be weak you know."

"I know."

"And it's okay to be weak in front of me, you know?"

"Yeah. I know."

"Okay."

They descended into silence again, until April took off her seatbelt and twisted herself around to face him. "I know this probably isn't the time for this conversation, but I have to tell you that I'm sorry. I didn't tell you this in August, but I really do regret the way things ended with us. I couldn't have married you, Nate, I wasn't ready."

"I know that now," he said quietly.

"No, I don't think you do. I think you think it's a weak, frail excuse and I'm hiding behind a lie. But that's not true. I was not ready to be married, to have a husband and a role in society and someone else's last name. I wanted it, I wanted to be your wife, _someday_, but you were ready then and I wasn't. It wouldn't have been fair to you. It wouldn't have been fair to me."

"What do you have now that you wouldn't have had if we had gotten married five years ago?"

She paused. "Do you remember how in November of my senior year of high school, I called you in tears telling you I had gotten three Cs for my first quarter grades?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "What does that have to do with this."

"That was my first grading period being in a long-distance relationship with you. I spent all of my time obsessing over you, whether you were happy or not, whether you were flirting with some other girls, or what if you would find someone? What if you just decided it wasn't going to work? I spent so much of my time and effort in our relationship, I didn't have enough left over to concentrate on myself. It wasn't until after I saw my grades that I realized that none of it was healthy."

"That was..._nine_ years ago, April!"

"I have a point."

"Then _get_ to it."

"I get caught up in you. It's like you amaze me, and I spend so much of my time just trying to be in a relationship with you, I don't have enough left over for myself."

"Are you serious."

"Yes! If we got married, I would spend all of my time trying to be a good wife or whatever, and I know myself, and I wasn't ready for that."

"I don't want that! I didn't want that then!"

"I _know_ that."

"So then why are you making up stupid excuses?" he exclaimed. "It's fucking annoying, April, the way you drag me around like this. You're in a car accident, and you collapse in my arms. In the waiting room, you wouldn't stop touching me! I'm not saying I mind that, because trust me, I don't. What I do mind is the fact that immediately afterwards, you'll have a conversation like this with me, and I won't know, once again, what you're intentions are."

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

She scrunched her eyes together and muttered, "Oh, my God." By her tone, he could tell she was irritated.

"Get out of my car, April," he told her tiredly. "Your brother keeps looking through the living room window to see if you're getting out anytime soon, and I need to drop him back to campus before the dorms close."

"It's impossible to have this conversation with you."

"We've had it once before and it didn't go anywhere; we're going to have it five million more times before something changes."

She couldn't deny the truth in that statement.

"Can we be friends?" she asked him, moving to open the car door. "Is that possible for us?"

He stared at her. "You want to be _friends_."

"Friends."

"Like friends who get coffee and share mundane details about life and have lunch together once every ten days?"

"Yeah."

He stared at her as if she were stupid. He was not in the mood. "Get the hell out of my car, April."

She rolled her eyes and did so.

* * *

><p>Will was in the front seat less than a minute after April vacated it. He rubbed his hands together and turned the heater on, shivering slightly.<p>

"So you and my sister haven't gotten your shit together yet, I take it."

"Why, did she say something?" Nate asked as he put on his left turn signal. He checked behind his shoulder to see if there was anyone in his blind spot, and, once he'd made his lane change and stopped the car at a red light, turned to look over at Will. "Seriously what did she say?"

"My sister hasn't talked to me all day, except to tell me that you were waiting for me in the car."

"So then why would you automatically assume that something happened?"

"Because it's_ you_ and _April_."

"Funny, what's the real reason?"

"She called you an asshole."

"What?" Nate smiled incredulously.

"She said, and I quote, 'Asshole's waiting for you in the car.'"

"Well that was rude," Nate said dryly.

"Yeah, you and April bring out sides of each other that other people don't ever get to see."

"This is true."

"You know you're one of like, six people to have ever made my sister cry, right?"

Sensing that the subject matter was leading into dangerous territory, Nate changed the subject. "_So_ who was that girl you were hitting on earlier? She looked familiar."

"Not smooth, bro."

"She looked familiar," Nate repeated.

"Did she? She's a freshman at Harvard and her name's Isobel."

"I think I know her."

"You sound ominous."

"No, no it's not like that. I just- I swear that I've seen her before somewhere."

"Well hopefully you haven't. I don't want some Society brat."

"You want a '_real woman_'?" Nate mocked.

"Yes."

"Well," Nate said, as he turned into a parking lot near Harvard Square. "You're not going to find one at Harvard."

"I'd like to believe I will."

"Best of luck. Anyways, is your dorm around here?"

"Yeah. Straus Hall, it's not far. I'll let my roommates know about the concussion and stuff. They'll wake me up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Ted's not going to sleep anytime soon. His girlfriend is at Stanford; they typically webcam until like 6 AM our time. And Josh is on the rowing team, so he'll be back in the room by then."

"Okay. I'm still going to call you every two hours."

"I'm not even your brother-in-law yet..."

Nate glared at him. "I'm doing it because I'm a doctor and you have a concussion."

"Okay," Will said, getting out of the car and closing the door. He leaned down and talked to Nate through the open window. "I'm going to go now."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Isobel at Harvard, Nate thought as he pulled out of the parking lot, going back to the girl he had seen earlier in the day. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place her.

Maybe he just needed a good night's rest.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: SUP FOOLS.**

**Alright, so at least it's not December. This time last year, I had taken an unofficial 4 month hiatus. **

**k, sorry for the long wait. I had a car accident in August, so I mary sue'd a little bit and made it a plot device for April and Nate! Yaaaaay. And yes, before you ask, what happened to April, with the car and the hydrant and the water flooding a street, yeah, that happened to me.**

**My motto is: Go big or go home. Youknow? **

**Anyways, I got my car back a week and a half ago, the day before school started, so now I can drive myself to school and all (booyaaahhh). It's weird because now I'm never at home on the weekends (SAT class, volunteering, yadda yadda), and I'm always studying for bio on weekdays (quiz every day, WHADDUPP), so all the writing that I don't need to turn in for the school newspaper or for Lit is just pushed to the backburner. Sorry ):**

**The only reason you guys are getting this chapter is because i heard this love song from this new indian movie that is just...magical, ohmygah. it's on repeat and i cannot stop listening to it. It legitly inspired me. Also, I found the indian version of Nate. **

**Actually, Nate is based off this Indian guy, so I guess I found the Indian celebrity version of Nate. If anyone has any actors, actresses in mind for the OC characters, send me a review! I'd love to see what the movie in your head looks like!**

**In other, story-related news, I haven't made my final decision on a couple of things: **

**1. April and Nate. To be or not to be? (No, I'm serious.)**

**2. R/L, fourth kid?**

**3. Georgie and Wes. Does she tell him or does he *le gasp* find out from someone else?**

**4. Will Isobel re-appear? **

**I DUNNO MAN. DECISIONS DECISIONS. VOTEVOTEVOTE. **

**kthanksbye. must go finish Lit now. **

**REVIEW! (:**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own._

_A/N: Starts abrupt, ends abrupt. _

_An update five days after the first one? What? Really, Meha, no lie? _

Well this is what happens when you give me 22 reviews for ONE CHAPTER in TWO DAYS.

enjoyyyy

* * *

><p>"Okay, Rory," Logan came into her home office, closing the door behind him. "We need to talk."<p>

She didn't look up from her computer, and he huffed in impatience until she put her finger up to signal, 'one sec'. Then he sat down and glared.

"Sorry, sorry, let me just save my column," she said, brow furrowed. Seconds later, after a few clicks of the mouse, her face cleared and she looked up to the expectant face of her husband. "Well don't you look happy today."

"Andrew spilled cereal all over the kitchen floor about a half hour ago and I almost walked in and slipped," he said strait-forwardly.

Rory was bewildered. "How did that even happen?"

"Well apparently he was really hungry and wanted cereal."

"But he should have asked one of us or Summer. Even Lydia!"

"He says Summer's asleep, Lydia wouldn't listen, and he thought we'd be mad if he interrupted us while we were working."

"Oh, my poor baby."

"No," he said irritably. "Not your poor baby."

"Excuse me?" she said, taken aback. "I think you're a little too irritated for something as minor as a milk spill in the kitchen."

Logan sighed and leaned back in his chair. "It's not about the milk spill, Ace."

"Then what is it about, Logan," she said, her voice low. He could hear the shift in her tone and quickly realized that he was treading into dangerous territory.

"Do you remember how, towards the end of the summer, we had that conversation about...expanding?"

"Expanding?" she said slowly. "What, you mean- having another child? Yes. I actually remember that conversation vividly."

"You wanted to know why I didn't want another child. This is why."

"Because our son had a milk spill?" she exclaimed incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"It's not about the milk spill, Ace! It's about the fact that our son thought that we didn't have time for him, and he went and decided to go and get food by himself, when he's 4 and can't even reach the cabinet that has the cereal, God knows how he even did that, it kind of terrifies me to think about it, honestly. He thought we didn't have time for him, and it seems to be true since neither of us knew his whereabouts, and neither of us knew that there was a safety hazard on the kitchen floor that couldn't have just hurt Andrew, it could have hurt Lydia or Soph, or even Summer." By this point, he was already up and pacing, hands running through his hair.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," he snapped. Logan stopped moving around and dropped his hands, turning towards his wife. "I grew up having very conflicted feelings about my father. Sometimes I thought he cared, other times he just wasn't there. I'd see him at a soccer game, and he'd miss Honor's school play. He'd be there for her first date, but he wouldn't know about the girl I took to the Homecoming dance until three weeks after the fact. He loved us, and I know that now, but we revolved around his schedule."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Ace," his voice softened. "I know that you feel that they're growing up too fast, or that the house feels a little empty. I know you want them to just be your little babies for a while, and I want that too, I do. I just cannot go through another two years of sleepless nights, while juggling minimum day schedules and ballet class and soccer practice and all that other stuff that we've signed our kids up for. We're already such a busy family. I need to make sure that I don't miss anything."

"Logan, honey," she got up and moved around her desk. As she got closer to him, she wrapped on of her arms around his neck, the other splayed across his chest. "You're not going to miss anything."

"There was a puddle of milk on our kitchen floor 10 minutes ago that said otherwise."

"Logan, that happens in every household. It's not because we're too busy for our kids or because no one knows where anyone is, or any of those crazy ideas you have in your mind that are making you think that you don't care enough about this family. It's because sometimes accidents happen."

"Someone could have gotten hurt because we weren't paying attention."

"Now you're acting like me."

"Nine years of marriage will do that to a person."

"Look, Logan, honestly I feel like you're overreacting."

He was silent for a few moments, jaw clenched, then finally sighed, looked her straight in the eye, and said, "How do you feel about moving?"

She froze. "Moving?"

"Yeah, you know, selling the house and moving out of the city."

"You want to move out of the city?" she asked with a sinking feeling.

He paused, "It's an option."

"An option for what?" she stepped away from him.

"An option for us. For our future."

"We need options?" she asked incredulously.

"Everyone needs options, Rory."

She looked downward, her brow furrowed. The conversation had taken a surprising turn, and she had barely managed to keep up. "Where did this even come from?"

Logan stared at his wife. "Rory, we were just talking about households and raising kids!"

"So, what now? It's either living in New York or having another child?"

"No," he said. "I'm just looking at options, Rory."

"Don't you think you should have talked to me about this instead of just springing it on me?" She kept moving backward, and eventually hit her desk.

"That's what I'm doing, right now. Talking to you about this. It's not like I'm dropping the keys to a house I bought for us on a whim in your hand right now," he said calmly, walking forward.

"Well it worked really well for you last time, Logan so there's really no telling what you'll do."

"I just feel that we should be open to moving! It's an option," he exploded.

"And I'm telling you no, it isn't."

"Shouldn't you talk to me about that instead of springing it on me?" he mocked her earlier words. "You can't just decide that we, as a family, are going to stay here when there are other options available."

"You can't decide that we, as a family, should move."

"It would be a good thing for us."

"How do you know that?"

"How can living in a suburb be bad for us?"

"Okay, fine," she said agreeably. "But why do we even need options? We are financially secure, we are healthy, our marriage isn't failing, we don't have problem children, so I don't see why we must uproot our life. Unless there's something you're not telling me..."

"Because I miss the kids and I miss you, okay!"

It suddenly struck her that Logan had been doing a lot of thinking about their family life. Obviously he had some major changes in mind, and he had come in here to discuss them. She was the one who had blown up. Then again, if he was the one against having another child, why were they having this discussion in the first place? Couldn't life just go on as usual?

He sighed loudly and collapsed into the chair closest to him, rubbing his hands over his face.

"You miss us?" Her expression softened. "You haven't gone anywhere."

"I was driving home the other day after I picked up Soph and Lydia and I...don't know. I guess I just realized I didn't want to waste life away like this."

"Waste life away," she echoed.

"Yeah. You know, when we're always out and the kids are always off at soccer or lacrosse or whatever activities we've got them in, I mean, they're so young. They're never home when I am, or I have meetings or if the kids and I are at home, you use that as free time to go do whatever it is that you have to do for the newspaper... When was the last time we all just sat down and spent a day together that wasn't a holiday? Besides, they're not afraid of anything! They- they- they just...I don't know, every single day, they amaze me. The way they act," he paused. "Ace, they're going to be jaded by the time they're ten years old. They see Broadway and Times Square, the tallest floors of the highest buildings in Manhattan, the insides of the most expensive stores. Our house, this house, it is not a normal house. It's so big and just... how are they going to turn out? Ambitious and never happy with what they have because they grew up with the best and now they want better?"

"You've been thinking about this," she said softly.

"I've been thinking about this since Sophia's fifth birthday, when I realized we had a house big enough to support our entire extended family."

"I thought you loved the city?"

"I did, I do. I don't know. Look, I know that we wanted to live in the city when we first got married, but it's been nine years. We lived in the city and it's fast-paced lifestyle and then we outgrew it. I don't want to raise our kids here. The private schools may be amazing, but we can always find somewhere else, can't we?"

"How do you do that?" she whispered. The look in her eyes was similar to awe, and even though it wasn't completely rare nowadays, seeing it in her eyes still made him feel like he was the only person in the world who could achieve anything.

He could, too, if it was for his family. He'd do anything and everything for them.

And she knew it.

"Do what, Ace?"

"It's like you make me fall in love with you all over again, even when I'm mad at you." She started walking towards him, and was seated in his lap in second.

"It's heartening to know we'll never get a divorce," he joked.

"You wouldn't even dare," she said, a smile poking at her lips. "I'd take you for every penny you've got."

"I'd give it willingly."

"That would remind me why I fell in love with you in the first place," she teased, running her hands over his chest.

"And then you wouldn't divorce me anymore?" he asked hopefully.

"And then I wouldn't divorce you anymore."

"Well that's a paradox if I ever heard one."

"Indeed it is," she said. "Guess I'm stuck with you. Most unfortunate if we're moving to the suburbs, I'll only have you for company."

"I have a strong feeling you're going to survive," he said happily, going in for the kiss.

She hadn't outright said that she was open to moving, but she was agreeing to talk about it and be open-minded, he knew that. If he could explain to her how important it was for him to not miss out on an hour of his kids' free time because he was stuck in Midtown Manhattan's rush hour traffic, he'd be golden.

They needed to get out of the city.

And he was going to make sure it was going to happen.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Logan," Nate said into his phone. "Er, it's me. Call me back."<p>

He hung up his phone and shoved it into his hoodie pocket. As the man in front of him finished his order and moved out of the way, Nate approached the coffee cart and placed his order. "I'll have a double-shot espresso."

"Intense," the girl manning the cart said. Nate looked up, surprised, since the kids at Harvard's coffee carts never actually spoke back to him, unless to say he looked familiar, but this one he knew.

"Hey, you're the girl who helped out at the-"

"Yeah, I am," she said as she rung up his order. "That'll be three dollars and twenty-seven cents."

Grumbling, he pulled out his wallet. "Harvard's expensive now."

"Was it ever cheap?" she joked.

"I wouldn't know for sure, since I never attended, but I'd assume so."

"Never? You look the Harvard type."

"This school has a type?" he looked around, raising his eyebrows.

"Every school has a type."

"That's an interesting belief. What makes you think I fit Harvard's type."

"Because you're wearing a Harvard hoodie," she pointed out. "But I dunno, maybe that means you're just a wannabe."

"I wouldn't come to Harvard if they payed me. Which, by the way, they offered to do."

"They offered to pay for me, too," she told him, looking up from the espresso machine.

"So then why do you need this job, Miss...?" he trailed off. Luckily, she understood what he was getting at.

"Lawrence," she told him reluctantly. "I don't need it, but it's always good to have a little financial security. I don't want to depend on my parents forever."

"I'm sure it is," he bit back a smile.

Oh, wasn't Will going to be happy. He had explicitly stated that he didn't want a high-society girl, but a nice, responsible, working-girl type person. While Nate had ignored much of what Will had said that day, he was now wondering what Will was going to do when he found that Isobel was both.

Or maybe she was neither?

Isobel grinned up at him brightly. "Here's your coffee, Mr. DuPont."

He took it gratefully, dipping his head, and said, "Call me Nate, please."

His phone started ringing just as he got out of earshot of Isobel's coffee cart, and he pulled it out eagerly, in the hopes that it was Logan. He'd been trying to get in touch with his cousin and Rory for two days to inform them of April and Will's accident. While he was sure that they already knew, he doubted that April had told them that she wasn't allowed to live by herself for at least two weeks. That meant that it was his responsibility to let them know, just in case they wanted to come down for a week or so. The probability of that happening was low, but he'd rather they know the whole story rather than just April's version.

As a lawyer, she had the ability to twist words and come up with things out of thin air. It worked well for her in the courtroom, but in real-life, well... It was dangerous.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Logan. It was April.

"Why are you at Harvard," she demanded the second he breathed a 'Hello'.

"Wait, what?" he stumbled and looked around in surprise. He coudn't see anyone who looked remotely like April, so it was surprising that she would know where he was. Plus, they hadn't talked in two days, since he dropped her off at Sam's house. Nate knew she'd be feeling rebuffed and left her alone for fear of adding even more fuel to their rapidly growing fire. "How do you know I'm at Harvard."

It had clearly been the wrong decision, if her tone had been anything to go by.

"Because I can see you! Turn around!"

He did so, and found her walking towards him from the same direction he had come from: the coffee cart.

Of course he hadn't looked backward.

She approached him quickly, and Nate could tell that she looked nervous. He hadn't realized it until she was standing right in front of him, but he was nervous, too. She always made him nervous, especially if they had left things awkwardly the last time they met. It didn't help that she looked completely put together, in that, 'I'm not actually trying' way of hers. She wasn't wearing heels, thankfully, but a pair of shoes that were made out of leather and had laces, which, thankfully, were tied. If she tripped, as she was prone to do, she had a better chance of catching herself before she fell.

But he digressed.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he replied.

She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb and looked back quickly, her curly ponytail flying back. "Sorry, I- er, ran. I, um, I shouldn't have bothered you. I'm sorry, I'm meeting with Will in like five seconds anyways, so I don't know, really, why I'm standing in front of you-"

"I'm meeting Will just now too," he cut her off with a raised eyebrow. They stared at each other for a second, then, simultaneously said, "You don't think-"

"No."

She shoved her hand into the left pocket of her black trench coat just as he pulled his phone out of his hoodie. They checked their messages at the same time, and, though they read the same message, they had different reactions.

"I didn't put him up to this," she said quickly. "I swear."

"I didn't either," he replied in a much calmer voice. "So it must have been his idea."

"Yeah," April averted her gaze.

"Well, there's a flaw in the plan," he leaned back on his heels. "And that is that I can leave whenever I want to. So I think I'm going to do that."

"What?"

"Yeah," he started walking backwards. "I haven't slept in like 24 hours so I think I'm going to go home and crash."

"You're drinking coffee, though," she started walking with him. "You're not going to be able to sleep when you've got caffeine in your system."

"I'm a doctor, the effect wears off."

"Obviously not, otherwise you wouldn't be drinking it."

He stopped and turned to face her. "Fine, what do you want," he asked impatiently.

She smiled brightly up at him, the type of smile that he hadn't seen aimed at him in five years. His stomach flipped as she held up the index finger of her right hand. "One hour," she said, hiding a smile. "Please?"

"Why."

"To talk."

"I don't really want to talk to you, April."

"And yet you are..."

"Well I don't know sign language, so it's kind of unavoidable."

"Fine, but why are you wearing the hoodie I bought for you?"

"Because it's the end of November, it's cold, and I'm on the Harvard campus. Wearing a hoodie with giant letters spelling out 'Stanford' would be unwise."

"Okay fine," she said restlessly. "But you're still here listening to me, so might as well stay another hour."

"One hour," he repeated firmly. "But that's it."

"That's all I need," she shrugged, still smiling. It was weird to see this confidence in her, especially regarding him. It was the confidence in him, in them, that she had lost that had made her say no. As much as he just wanted to yell and argue it out, he knew that she needed to discover, on her own, that this was it. Seeing her like this made him want to stay.

"If, after one hour, you want to leave, I won't stop you. But until then, you're mine. And you have to listen to every. word. I. say."

He wanted to say, "I always listen to what you say."

He wanted to say, "I've been yours since I was eighteen."

But he was a man, and men didn't say that in front of Aprille Cecilia Gilmore Hayden unless they wanted to be severely judged. So, he let her grab his hand and pull him forward, and he just looked down at her every thirty seconds and sipped his coffee, listening to every word she said.

* * *

><p>They spent the rest of the day together. He bought her a coffee at the next cart, ignoring her protests, saying he didn't want to be the only one drinking a coffee. He'd look like a pretentious douchebag, otherwise, he argued. As it was, Harvard had no lack of those.<p>

After that, they'd just walked around a lot.

Nate, obviously, had decided to stick around even after the hour was up, and April couldn't deny that she'd wanted to jump up and down and squeal. Instead, she'd turned away from him and bitten back a smile, pointing up at the sky. "Look, the sun is setting."

He'd stood behind her and whispered quietly, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Then something had just clicked, and the conversation just took off.

They hadn't stopped talking since April had delved into her life at Harvard and then the memories she had. She'd pointed out everything that she'd been associated with, even if it was the bench that she sat on outside the building that had housed her Torts class. It was almost as if he'd been there with her for those three years of her life.

Almost, but not quite.

After all, he hadn't been there.

They'd made a silent agreement to not mention the failed proposal, and it had worked out for them. He was allowing himself to just relax and listen to her, adding in his own opinion when he felt like it, and all of a sudden it felt like they were together again, as if he could tell her everything and his problems would just go away if she laughed. It was that simple.

Her car was still parked near Harvard Square, since they'd taken his to the restaurant. She re-programmed his fixed radio channels without asking for permission, and he, without checking with her, drove them to the Olive Garden. Back when they'd been poor, broke college students (not), Olive Garden had been their go-to restaurant. Whether Nate was visiting Boston or April was in Palo Alto for the weekend, there was always an Olive Garden around. It was some semblance of routine, going to an Olive Garden once a month and ordering the same thing.

They'd both reached for the cheque.

"Let it go, Nate," she said slowly.

"No," he replied just as slowly.

"Let it go."

"I got this, April."

"I'm paying."

"Stop this, now," he started laughing as she tugged the short leather folder. "Seriously, I'm paying, so stop this."

She loosened her hold. "We go Dutch."

"This is ridiculous," Nate said, leaning back in his seat. He hadn't let go of the cheque, either, but he used more power than April, and she was pulled into the table. "Why won't you just let me pay."

"If you pay," April sobered. "It's a date."

He raised an eyebrow in return. "Says who?"

She blushed. "Says," she looked around awkwardly. "The social etiquette of the rest of the world?"

"Well screw the rest of the world."

"Nate!"

He leaned forward and smiled, waving the black folder in front of her face. "I'm paying. And you win."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged, an innocent look on her face.

"Of course you don't," he said, taking out his wallet and putting down two twenties and a ten. "Now come on, let's go." He slid out of the booth and stood up, then stood in front of her and put his hand out.

Confused, she stood up. "Where are we going?"

"On a walk."

"As if we haven't done enough walking in the past four hours?" she laughed. "Nate come on, I'm tired."

"Stop complaining!"

"I'm tired!"

"You're not even wearing heels."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Wearing heels tires you out more."

"Shouldn't you be dead on your feet right now?" she asked pointedly.

"I am," he admitted. "But that's okay, I have tomorrow off to sleep."

"Unhealthy, Nate," she scolded as she pushed the main door to the restaurant open. They were hit with a gust of cold air, and she shivered. "Why do work so hard, anyways?"

"Why do you, Ms. 'I can't decide between the two best cities in America'?"

"I can decide. I love Boston!"

"Then why do you even go to New York?"

"Because I have no other choice."

"April when someone puts a gun to your head, there are 246 options other than 'getting shot'."

"Nate..."

"Come on, you asked to be friends. I'm trying to do you one better, but you have to be honest with me."

"Fine. I do it because my dad has a lot on his plate right now and I'm willing to help out in any way I can."

"That's bullshit. You're doing it to escape your life."

"I have nothing to escape from," she said softly. "It's not like I get out much anymore."

"What are you talking about?" he asked sharply.

"Are you sure you want to talk about this?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to."

"Okay," she exhaled loudly. "Well, after you and I broke up, I started studying for the LSATs. I had a nice long discussion with my parents and decided that I wanted to Law-"

"You didn't want to compete with me."

"Excuse me?"

"You didn't want to compete with me!" he laughed incredulously. "You were afraid of the heat, so you got out of the kitchen."

"I have no clue as to what you're talking about."

He put his fist against his mouth, dropped it, and then started talking. "You went into HLS because you didn't want to end up in the same circles as me again. You were going out of your way to avoid me, because you didn't know I had gone to London."

He had expected her to contest it; to say, No, Nate, of course not. Why would you think I'd be that weak?

"I didn't think I was strong enough to see you again."

"You changed your whole life, for me."

"A bit selfish, don't you think?"

"Tell me it's not true and maybe I'll believe you."

"It's true," she groaned, throwing her head back. "Must we do this?"

"We must! Don't you just feel cathartic? I feel chathartic."

"Your turn," she pushed at him.

"But I asked first."

"But I already told you everything."

"Noooo."

"My dad ran for government and so I had to step up and be the Hayden in Hayden, Putman& Rice."

"Can't you just tell him you want to stay in one place?"

"He's always so busy, though. I don't want to add to his stress."

"He threw a _party_this past weekend. Highly doubt he's stressed right now."

"Shut up," she punched his shoulder. He pulled her closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder; her right arm went around his waist. "Why do _you_work so hard?"

"This goes into deep, soul-baring territory."

"I can take it."

"It's not you I'm worried about. It's admitting it to myself."

Silence, as she waited for him to speak again.

"I get the feeling that my father prefers Derek to me."

"What?" she stopped in her tracks. "No he doesn't."

"Logically, I know. I just- I've never been able to shake that feeling."

"Why?"

He unlocked the car with his remote and motioned for her to get inside, which she hurriedly did. Once inside, she rubbed her hands together and shivered until the car warmed up.

"I did my own thing in life. I didn't go to my father's alma mater, I didn't go into his profession. When I was in the UK, I spent a great deal of time away from my family, despite being so geographically close. Derek, on the other hand, went straight to LSE, got a job, got married, had a kid, now he's my father's right-hand man..."

"I'm sorry I put a dent in your plans."

"You didn't, though, that wasn't why I proposed to you."

"Then why did you propose to me?"

"One question at a time, April. I'd have thought that the answer to that would be obvious. But anyways, that's the way I feel like my dad feels. I let the opportunity get away, and I let the girl get away. Now I'm twenty-eight years old and unmarried, which is practically unheard of in my family."

"If your mother's behavior is anything to go by, I don't think she's too disappointed in you."

"What do you mean?"

"You know those navy curtains you have?"

"The ones in my bedroom? Yeah, how'd you know?'

"I chose them."

He started laughing. "Really?"

"I did. That day in New York, she started asking me to start choosing things out, so I did and she approved, and finally she tells me everything's for you because you were moving to Boston, and I think I just died, right then, in the store."

"That must have been awkward," he said as they started to pull out of the parking lot.

"Oh," she thought back to her meltdown that day, and all of the things that she'd told Mrs. DuPont. "It really was."

"She only wants what's best for me. She wouldn't have approved of you- your choices otherwise."

She noticed the slip. "Well she still approves of me."

"I'm aware."

"So if you put a lot of stock in your mother's opinion-"

"I do."

"Then, you know-"

"What do I know?"

"We could always," she started twiddling her thumbs. "We could try again. You and I, I mean."

* * *

><p>AN: Don't kill me for the cliffie! I'll update soon, I promise! Senior year's so chill, I love it.

I have an AP Bio test tomorrow. Review so that I'll smile when I check my e-mail after I get out of class!

Anyways, after I wrote last chapter, I realized that I'd never shown April and Nate as a couple, happy and thriving. As much as I hate Romeo and Juliet, I made April and Nate somewhat similar, with a love story so complicated that I'd want to kill myself if I were reading it.

Plus, I really want to get into Georgie and Wes and Will and Isobel. SO now that you know her last name, go back to the New Years' chapter of TCR and see if you can read carefully and figure out who Isobel is related to. If anyone still has any clue who anyone in this story still is, that is. I realize I've made it slightly confusing...

Anyways, boys suck. Also, check out my formspring, where you can ask me questions! formspring(dot)me/ (passionatesun)

just take out the parenthesis.

REVIEW! [:


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello! I am back. With an update. After forever, heheeoheoeh. I hope you like some of the developments! **

**Tell me how you feel about these three love stories, since I really want to know! Your opinion matters! **

**There is, unfortunately, no Rogan in this chapter (I wrote 4400 words before I started writing their scene so I just split the chapter. Sorry). There is, however, lots of April&Nate fluff (yaaay!) and some Georgie/Wes development, and a Will-scene! **

**I'll try to update before midnight from now on, promise. **

**REVIEW! (:**

* * *

><p>RING. RING. RING. The blaring of an automatic alarm clock woke them both the next morning at 5:30 AM.<p>

"Turn if off," April grumbled, pulling the blankets higher up to her chin and snuggling deeper into Nate's arms and the warmth that he provided. Despite the fact that was in sweats and thick, fluffy socks, late November in Boston was freezing. She'd lived on the East Coast for most of her life, but the winter weather and she had never been the best of friends.

"Hmmmm," he replied, unmoving. "It's Monday. I'm not on-call."

"Well you set an alarm."

"You set an alarm. I actually value my sleep."

"Oh."

"Aren't you going to turn it off?"

"Too lazy," she grumbled.

Nate lifted his head to look at her, his eyes barely opening. "April, it's annoying."

"Hmmmm," she ignored him, rolling over so that she was facing away from him. He pulled her closer to him and rested his chin on her neck.

"It's Monday morning, and you set an alarm for 5:30 in the morning, you should probably wake up."

And then her eyes flew open. "Oh shit."

"What? What happened?"

"I have a meeting in New York today! Fuck, dammit." She scrambled out of bed and started shivering the instant her feet touched the ground. "Why did we not turn the heater on last night?" she asked through chattering teeth as she picked up a hoodie from the papasan chair in the corner of her room.

"Because we were tired? You barely had the strength to brush your teeth and change your clothes."

This was true.

They'd ended up at April's house the night before.

Nate had kept his mouth shut for the rest of the drive, and April only spoke to give him directions. She'd given up hope to his ever responding, but when she'd gotten out of the car to go inside, he'd walked her to her front porch, completely silent.

And then he'd kissed her, pushing her up against the wall. She could still remember the feel of his lips on hers, and how warm she'd instantly become. It had felt good, that kiss. Even better than the kiss they'd had at Sophia's birthday party, simply because this one was both of them agreeing that they really, really wanted this. No more egos, power struggles, facades of nonchalance.

Her grandfather had once told her that the best part about winter was being warm in the cold, and, she reflected as she looked back at Nate, that had definitely made her night memorable. He was like a barrier to the cold, warming her up with not only his physical presence, but his smile and his eyes and everything that was finally, finally hers again. That thought alone warmed her up more than any heater every could.

Except right now, since it was freezing.

But they'd kissed.

And that was that.

She'd invited him inside, since they'd both figured they had things to talk about, but they'd done nothing but reminisce about the good times. They'd laughed the rest of the night away, his head in her lap, curled up together on the sofa, sharing kisses now and then.

Eventually, she'd started yawning. He had, too, and in the snowfall and the biting cold, she didn't want him driving anywhere.

So he stayed, and slept in an old pair of sweats of his that she'd kept forever, and a ratty T-shirt that had also belonged to him at one point in time.

Nate didn't have any socks, though, so his feet inevitably got tangled up with hers in the middle of the night for warmth.

April finally, finally felt completely happy again. Nothing could deter her good mood, except maybe the fact that she had to make a two and a half hour drive to New York City at the crack of dawn.

"I slept better than I have in a long time, though."

"'Tis to be expected," he said, burying his head in his pillow. "Can't you call someone and let them know that you won't be able to make it? Use a sick day."

"I do have a lot of those," she said, biting her lip.

"Yes, you do. So come back to bed, please."

"It's only been twelve hours and you're already clingy."

He waved his arm at her in response, trying wildly to grab her hand and pull her back to him.

"I'm calling in sick," she laughed at him. "Can you wait?"

"You're actually contemplating skipping work today?" Nate sat up completely, and widened his eyes.

"Yes," she knelt down on the bed, cell phone in hand. "I have better things to do today."

His eyebrows went up and a smirk appeared on his face. "Do you?"

"Yep," she said innocently, brushing her curly hair out of her face. "I have to go pick up my car from the shop and then visit my parents since I haven't seen them in a month or so, and then catch up on a few episodes of-"

"Shut up, April," he interrupted her, drawing his face closer to hers.

"Okay," she giggled. His face crept closer to hers, but before their lips could touch, she pulled away. "Morning breath! Go brush your teeth."

"April!"

"Seriously, your breath stinks." she laughed,

"You're an unappreciative girlfriend."

"Trust me," April ran her hands over his shoulders. "You have no idea how appreciative I am that you're here."

"I do," he said, his voice low, green eyes dark. "But I think this conversation is a little too serious for this early in the morning."

"Yeah."

There were a few beats of silence, until she spoke up again. "Are we going to tell anyone?"

"Do you want to tell anyone?"

"Well," she said uncomfortably, sinking back beneath the blankets. "Not really, no."

"And that would be because...?"

April sighed, rolling over to face him. "I just- I don't know how- or what, really-"

"You're my girlfriend. It's a juvenile way of describing it, but when I mention you to people, I will call you my girlfriend. You will be my plus one to any stupid galas that I'm forced to go to, and I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm finally in a relationship with you again to anyone."

"Can't we just wait a couple of months? I mean, this is complicated."

"You know, if you think about it, it's really not."

"How is everyone going to react?"

"Like they've been expecting it," he told her flatly.

"What if they disapprove?"

"Now you're just being stupid."

"Nate..."

"April, we can't just keep hiding it."

"I'm not saying we have to. I'm saying we should take time to figure things out. People are going to ask us how it happened and whether or not the issues from last time are gone. What if we break up again, what if we don't feel the same way anymore, what if-"

"What if you just thought about the good things, and not the bad? I've been in love with you since I was eighteen. Losing you four years later was the stupidest thing I've ever done. Well, besides kissing that Haley girl on New Year's Eve 2010. That was the night you got with Evan."

"You still remember that?" she asked astonished. "I haven't thought about Evan Pennington in God knows how long."

"And I'd really, really like to keep it that way," he said, kissing the spot on her neck that her hoodie didn't cover.

She giggled, hunching her shoulders. "That tickles!"

Wrong thing to say, she realized, as he brought both his hands up to her waist and started tickling her.

"Stop, Nate! I'm not joking- Aha! Stop!" she tried in vain to push his hands away. "Stoooop!" 

* * *

>"April called in sick to work today," Chris told his wife as she came into the kitchen. He threw her an apple. "Here."<p>Lorelai stared at the apple as if it were something she'd never seen before. "Oh, my God, Chris."<p>

"I know. She never calls in sick."

"No, I meant the apple. You know I only eat these when I'm pregnant."

Her husband's face fell. "Lorelai!"

"What?"

"Our daughter called in sick from work today! What if something's wrong."

"Or, what if she's sick?"

"April doesn't get sick. She hasn't gotten sick in a year and a half."

"It's November in Boston. She probably washed her hair and went outside in a hurry and caught a headcold. If it was anything serious, you know she'd call us."

She had a point, he knew, and logically it was a reason he could swallow.

But not from Lorelai. Lorelai knew everything about her children, and she was always the one who worried more. Always.

"Lor," he said, leaning on the kitchen island. "What do you know?"

"I know nothing," she said innocently.

"I know something's up."

"You know nothing, Jon Snow," she told him, eyes filled with mirth.

"Lorelai!"

"Okay fine!" she threw her hands up and pulled up a stool to the island and sat down directly across from him. "She's with Nate."

A beat of silence.

"Nate who?"

"DuPont."

"Nate DuPont?"

"Yes," she said seriously, looking him straight in the eyes. "Nathaniel Grayson DuPont."

"Our Nate? They're finally- she's with- really?"

"Chris," his wife asked him in concern, reaching out to grab his hand. "Are you okay, Chris?"

"Yeah," he said dazedly, getting up from his seat. He started to walk out of the kitchen, with Lorelai following closely behind him, and went all the way out to the entrance hall.

"What are you doing?" she asked him in amazement as he took out a coat from the closet and put it on. "Chris?"

He started to pull on some boots. "I think I'm going to go for a drive."

"Why?"

"Because," he grabbed his keys. "I'm about to get my second son-in-law. I need time to think."

"Christopher Hayden! You don't know that."

"Oh yeah?

"Okay, well," she relented, thinking about the probability of her daughter's relationship working out the second time. "They're not getting married now."

"And don't we all just thank God for small mercies?" Chris asked rhetorically, shaking his head at her as he made his way out the door.

She pulled out her phone to text Rory as the front door slammed shut, but then quickly put it away. She wasn't supposed to know, and she didn't even know if there was something she should know yet. Will had told her that he'd planned for the two of them to meet up, but he hadn't done anything beyond that. For all her son knew, they had bumped into each other at Harvard and then gone their separate ways.

Lorelai, of course, always knew more about her children than they knew themselves. Sam had called later in the night to ask if April was with them as she wasn't home yet. That was when the pieces really fell into place, but she couldn't be completely sure of anything until April called her up squealing.

Or maybe she just wouldn't say anything. Maybe they'd keep it a secret for a while, and grow into the relationship and figure it out without everyone else pressuring them to make the relationship something it wasn't.

Whichever it was, she figured, sighing, her daughter most likely didn't want the whole family to know yet. When April wanted things to be known, they were known.

Her daughter had that quality about her, she supposed. She had always had some sort of commanding quality. It wasn't because of her wealth, nor was it her looks. Instead, it was the personality she had; her ability to make others feel as if they were important to her even when they weren't, well, that had gotten her far in life. April made others do things but let them think that it was their idea.

It could be happening right now, too. Did April really want her to not tell Rory? Or maybe she didn't, and that was where all this doubt was coming from. What if Lorelai made the wrong decision? What if it affected her daughter's happiness? She couldn't tell anyone until April and Nate told anyone. That was the only way to go, wasn't it?

But mostly, the only thought running through her head was, 'when did I start to overanalyse everything?'

April and Nate, Lorelai thought to herself. "Another son-in-law. So soon."

She suddenly felt very old. She was a mother of four, a grandmother of three, and couldn't shake the feeling that there would be another wedding in the family soon.

Chris had the right idea, she realized. "Grab the keys and go for a ride," she muttered to herself. "I think I'm going crazy."

But really, she was going to New York City.  
><p>

* * *

>"I still say we tell my mother," Nate said as he popped a grape into his mouth.<p>"If we tell your mother, we tell my mother."<p>

"But Lorelai will tell everyone!"

"You act like that's a bad thing."

Nate raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Okay the cynicism needs to stop."

She looked up at him innocently. "What are you talking about?"

He'd noticed the fear hiding in her eyes back when he'd first seen her again in August, and the feeling hadn't stopped haunting him.

He'd changed April. Who she was now, cynical and reluctant to trust, that was his fault. He had told her that he wouldn't leave her, that he'd be her best friend and anything he had the capacity to be, but then he had.

And it had changed her whole life completely.

Something had to be done about her views, or else she'd be rejecting him a second time when he got down on one knee.

"We should have a movie marathon."

"You sure went from A to Z very quickly," she retorted, coming around the side of the bar in the kitchen.

"Well," he craned his neck up at her as she came closer towards him. "I just feel like you could do with some cheesy romance."

"I have cheesy romance," she said, holding out her hand. "You think a nine-year long, drawn out story of unrequited love and other such obstacles isn't cheesy?"

"Hey," he objected, standing up. "When was it ever unrequited?"

"When I had a boyfriend and you were single."

They were standing in the middle of the kitchen now, her hands on his chest, his around her waist. It felt surreal, standing there in each other's company, reminiscing about the past.

"Oh you mean when you had a boyfriend while you developed feelings for me?"

"I genuinely liked Evan," she informed him.

"No you didn't," he told her. "You really didn't."

"Why are we concentrating on Evan? I've had other boyfriends."

The pain came unexpectedly, such a sharp pang of emotion that he actually widened his eyes at her statement. "Okay that actually hurt," Nate said candidly. "I'd prefer not talking about these other people. At least, not yet."

"There were only two, and they were both very short term."

The pain lessened.

"Very short term?"

"Very," she outlined her name across his chest with her finger. "They weren't you, after all."

Her eyes were shining brightly, he saw, with love and hope and something that he could almost identify as trust. Trust that he'd accept it and move on, that she'd had the chance to choose someone else over him but she hadn't.

After all, last night, she'd been the one to broach the subject. Nate had kept his mouth shut and contemplated all of the possible outcomes. When he'd finally decided to just screw it and kiss her, she had responded eagerly, pressing as close to him as she possibly could.

"This is it," he realized, telling her with a certainty that couldn't be faked. "We can't mess around anymore, April, because if we do... Neither of us can handle that."

"Not today," she leaned up. "We've got a long, long time to talk about all of that. Right now, can we just be?"

"Are you capable of just being," he smirked against her lips.

"Shup up, Nate," she said. Then she closed the gap between their lips and kissed him deeply. "Prince Charming, you are."

"Are you challenging me?"

"Depends on how you take it."

"Challenge accepted, April. Challenge accepted."

"You really need to stop watching old television shows."

"You really need to stop talking as much as you do."

So she did.

* * *

><p>"Georgie, I'm telling you, there's something about this girl," Will said as he walked down Harvard Square. "I've only talked to her twice, but I know there's something there."<p>

"You just know? Oh God, Will." In DC, his sister sighed to herself as she stared at her phone. She could see the puppy-dog look on her brother's face, and today of all days, she wasn't ready to hand out relationship advice.

"I know it sounds cheesy, but-"

"But nothing, bro Look, I'm sorry I'm being a min-April right now, but I just- none of you guys showed up to Mom and Dad's place for the Thanksgiving gala thing, and I was stuck in a really sticky situation." She made a face at the camera, and Will looked sympathetically back at her.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly, no," she shook her head. "I think I'm going to go for a walk and enjoy Hartford; after all, I'm not coming back 'til December."

"I miss home," Will sighed wistfully.

"Don't we all? But anyways, I really do want to go. Talk to this girl, okay?" At his nod of assertion, she tapped the red button on the screen and put her phone away. She got off the bed and grabbed her iPod as she passed the dresser, making sure to stuff a $10 in her pocket, too.

She had some thinking to do, and she was feeling, well, confused, to say the least. That party had actually taken a lot out of her, especially since her parents had introduced her to the sons of so many of their closest friends. She'd even met Wesley's parents, but there hadn't been any sign of him.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going out for a walk," she called out as she flew down the stairs. When she got to the foyer, she discovered that neither of her parents' car keys were in the bowl on the table. "Huh. Well alright then. Don't spend my last day at home with me."

She grabbed a coat and walked out the door, completely unprepared for the cold gust of wind that hit her. "Oh, crap." Despite that, though, she managed to survive the 20 minute walk and made it all the way to downtown Hartford, where she entered the closest Coffee Bean& Tea Leaf that she could find.

The line itself was long, so she was able to send off a couple of texts to her sisters. April didn't respond, which was slightly suspicious since her phone was always on her, and always on loud. Rory, though, sent back an essay-length message describing the horrors of having two young girls sick over Thanksgiving weekend.

She ignored that one.

Something was always happening at Rory's house, and she didn't know how to have a conversation with her sister about her nieces being bratty. They were sick and they were crabby, of course they wouldn't be enjoyable company.

But her older sister would not be happy to hear that point of view, so she'd rather just not go there.

"Excuse me, it's your turn to order," a familiar voice said from behind her. She turned in surprise and heard a loud THWACK as her ponytail hit the side of his face.

"I am so sorry, oh my God, honestly," she said desperately. "I did not mean to do that."

"Hard to believe that, really," the guy said as he looked up, dropping his hand from his face so she was finally able to get a good look at him. "Understandable why you would be mad; I didn't ask for your phone number."

"Wesley!"

"Wes," he corrected.

"Excuse me, you're holding up the line," the employee at the register said.

"Right, sorry, um, two regular Cinnamon French Lattes. Keep the change," Georgie said hastily, slapping the ten on the counter. "And the receipt, too."

The girl, who couldn't have been more than a year younger than her, gave her a strange look but accepted the money quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Georgie asked as she tugged Wes away, eyes wide. "What are you doing in Hartford?"

"It's Thanksgiving weekend, I'm visiting my family. What are you doing here, I thought you said you weren't from here?"

Oh. Damn. She had forgotten that, even though she had constantly been thinking about him and his family, he had no idea who hers was. She needed a good excuse to talk about why she was in a city she disclaimed all relation to.

"Oh, you know. Boston to New York via Hartford."

"Right," he said, not completely convinced. "By the way, I like my coffee black. And decaffeinated."

"But that's no way to drink coffee!"

"It's my opinion."

"Well it's a really bad one."

"Thank you," he bowed his head. "I appreciate that."

"I'm sure you do."

There was an awkward silence as he looked anywhere but her, and she couldn't stop looking at him. The glasses hadn't gone anywhere, and neither had the Converse, but he was wearing a couple of long-sleeved shirts underneath a red hoodie, his messenger bag ever present, and she couldn't help but be a little breathless.

He was cute, in that nerdy, dorky, I'm-really-smart-but-its-attractive kind of a way. And, despite the fact that she came from a family of Harvard and Yale students and graduates, she could appreciate Brown.

After all, it had rejected her.

"Two Cinnamon French Toast Lattes!" The Barista called out. Wes looked up from the floor, looking almost relieved by the distraction.

"Our drinks are ready," he explained. "I should go get them."

"Knock yourself out," she answered amusedly.

He did go get them, clumsily handing one over to her before abruptly announcing that he had to go.

Wes was halfway to the door when he turned around to see her staring wistfully at him, her bottom lip sticking out. He quickly crossed the room to where she was now sitting and crouched down. "I forgot to get your number," he whispered. "Any chance I could get it now? Maybe we could meet up the next time we're in the same city?"

She rattled off the digits as fast as she could. "Yeah," she nodded. "I'd like that."

"Good."

"Good."

"Great."

"Great."

"It is. But now I really do have to go."

* * *

>'Talk to this girl,' Georgie had told him.<p>He had to find her first.<p>

Will had walked aimlessly around the Harvard campus for half an hour now, to no avail. Isobel just didn't want to be found, or if she did, she overestimated his abilities. Without a last name or a college name, he had no way of finding her, except describing her to everyone he saw.

He quickly discovered that that was easier said than done.

Coffee, he thought. Coffee was always helpful in stressful situations.

There was a coffee cart in Harvard Square not far from where he was, so he started walking in that direction, pulling his jacket closer around him. April and Georgie had taken him shopping before the start of the school year, deciding that no brother of theirs was going to school in horrible clothing. If there was anything his sisters cared about, it was the way they presented themselves. Chris and Lorelai had always taught them that the way they presented themselves won them half the battle. Their mother wasn't one for vanity, but Lorelai had beautiful children and she knew it. She wasn't the type of women to send them out in rags just for the purpose of principles, though God knows she had those, too.

He was so lost in thought that he bumped into someone as he turned the corner. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the sound of an iPod clattering to the floor was heard, but all he could really see was a mess of papers flying everywhere. "Sorry dude," the guy he bumped into said, struggling to pick up his papers. "I was just following that girl and I wasn't really looking, and yeah, it's all my fault."

"No, that's fine," Will said slowly, looking behind to try and catch of a glimpse of the girl who had caused this mess. He thought he saw a flash of Isobel's face, but he couldn't be sure; she disappeared so quickly. Turning back to the mess in front of him, he asked, "So who was she?"

"Oh," the blond-haired teen looked up and grinned. "Isobel Lawrence. I've had a crush on her since I was like eight. She was fast-paced even when we were younger, I don't see why she'd stop for me now."

"That's a long time," Will said, picking up the last free piece of paper and standing up.

"Ten years."

Lawrence. Lawrence.

What was it about Lawrence?

It came like a punch to the gut. He was looking for Samantha's cousin this whole time. Oh, wouldn't April and her best friend have a laugh over that.

The only problem was this nice-looking guy in front of him. If some guy had been crushing on her for a decade, what chance did he have?

"Ryder Pennington, by the way," the blond stuck out his head. "What's your name?"

He paused. Well, he laughed internally. That made things easier.

Now all he had to do was call Nate and ask him how to wrestle a girl away from a Pennington boy.

"Will Hayden," Will said amiably. He didn't need to say anything else, just watched as the geniality slowly disappeared from Ryder's face.

"April's brother."

"April's brother, indeed. And who are you in relation to Evan?" Will asked nonchalantly. "They weren't together for very long, I don't remember meeting much of your family."

"I'm his brother."

"I didn't know Evan had a brother my age."

"Well now you do."

"This is true, now I do," Will said, keeping his fake polite tone. "I'll let April know I bumped into you."

"You do that. I'll let Isobel know I bumped into you."

"Don't bother," Will smirked. "I'll tell her myself.

Then, because the day had somehow turned inexplicably amazing, he nodded curtly, smiled once more, and then walked away.

His sister had told him once that Harvard didn't become home until you'd made at least one enemy.

"Welcome home," he whispered to himself. "Welcome freaking home."

* * *

><p><p>

**A/N: So whaddya think, yoooo. Let me know, 'tis important to me. **

**Anyways, thank you guys for your love and support, it means a lot. My life is finally back on track and yeah. I'll be updating more now. Also, I shall be taking the previous chapter (the author's note) down. SO yeah. **

**who likes One Direction? **

**IT'S GOTTA BE YOUUUU. **

**oh my, Harry and Niall and Zayn and Liam and ugh I love you four heartheartheart. **

**REVIEW! (:**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Yeah, I know it's been a while, but I've had some family stuff going on. In other news, I've been out on an almost-date with the guy I like, I turned 17, and I'm going to Disneyland on Friday. And I have a B in Calc. SO LIFE IS GOOD, WHEEEE.

Also, I recently got addicted to Downton Abbey. Does anyone watch that? Keep a look out, I'm going to be writing a fic for that soon.

* * *

><p>The knock at her door surprised her, since she hadn't been expecting to see anyone for another hour. When she looked up, though, she could see Nate through the glass, clearly distracted by the plaque with her name on it.<p>

He noticed her watching him and pushed open the door, forgoing any pleasantries. "Why do you get a gold plaque on a _glass _wall outside of your office and I get nothing?"

"Probably because you're an intern and I'm well on my way to making partner," she replied, closing the case file on her desk and putting it aside.

He noticed her action, smiling slightly. "Oh, do I get all your attention today?"

"Nate-"

"I'm just saying; I haven't seen you in two days."

"I've been busy, I'm sorry."

"No, that's okay," he broke into a grin. "I'm just teasing. I just got off a sixty-hour-shift. Us not seeing each other is just as much my fault as yours."

"You look surprisingly clean for someone who hasn't been home in a day and a half."

And he did. He looked clean and fresh, the exact opposite of what she felt at the moment. His hair was slightly damp from what she assumed was a shower, and hers was tied up in a sleek ponytail because she hadn't had time to wash it in three days. It was unfair, because she actually went home every night. No one cared what he looked like at the hospital.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I went home. I showered. And then I checked the time and realized it was almost seven o'clock and I thought I could swing by my girlfriend's office and we could go out to dinner."

"Nate!" she said, shocked.

"What? It's not like anyone can hear. Besides, we agreed not to tell anyone, I get it, but when we're alone, at least, please allow me to call you my girlfriend."

"I'm sorry," she let out a breath, smiling slightly. "I just like the peace."

"What peace?"

Before she could answer, though, they were interrupted.

"April, why are you- Oh, hi Nate! I didn't expect to see you here," Samantha said, bewildered.

"Just thought I'd come by and take dinner orders. You want anything?" he asked, pushing back his chair and standing up.

"No, I'm good," she paused. "Actually, I'm really glad to see you."

"You are?" April and Nate asked at the same time. While April's tone was sharp and full of defense, Nate was almost chuckling.

"Yes," Samantha said slowly, throwing a curious look at her best friend. "I was just about to go home, and since April's probably going to be here a while, would you mind dropping her home?"

"Of course not. I can do that," Nate agreed. "I'll just wait then, yeah, Ape?"

Since the car accident three weeks ago, neither Nate, Sam, nor any of her family members had trusted her to get behind the wheel again. When she had tried to argue that procrastinating in getting behind the wheel again would only deepen her fears, Nate had ignored her and said that there was no way she'd ever be afraid of something as easy as driving a car. Ten years of experience couldn't be erased by just one experience, he'd argued. Besides, her car was still in the shop, and their unease was at the fact that she'd be driving a completely new car. An unfounded fear, she supposed, but she couldn't deny that in a strange way, she loved it. It _was_ the most attention her family had payed her in a long time.

Her father had even told her to stop making the commute from Boston to New York. She'd been to the city once in the last three weeks, but even that was to see Rory and Logan and the kids, and Nate had driven.

As to the status of their relationship, well, they hadn't told anyone in the end. Lorelai suspected, April knew from the twinkle in her mother's eye whenever they spoke, but she hadn't outright told anyone. Not even Samantha, who had been driving her to work and back every day. Her best friend had gone to law school with her, had joined the firm with her, and had been her partner on more cases than she could count, and Sam _knew _something was up. Until April was ready to say something, though, she'd wait.

In the meantime, Nate's appearance around her had been attributed to the fact that their family didn't really trust doctors (Haydens were stronger than that, really). Christopher did care about his daughter, though, and so he'd asked Nate to keep a lookout for April.

The easy friendship they showed to everyone around them wasn't forced, and no one seemed to bat an eyelash when they saw the two laughing and joking. At the end of the day, these were two mature people who had, before their relationship, been very good friends. There was no need to continue to be stilted and awkward around each other after two months of getting used to the other's presence.

"Would you mind?" She glanced up at him. "It'll only be another half hour."

"I'll stay then," he said, making his way back to the leather chair in front of her desk. "Wouldn't want you to stay all alone in this dark office. Who knows what can happen up here."

"What a knight in shining armor," Samantha teased. "Anyways, I have to get going. Drew's flight lands early tomorrow morning, I need to be airport to pick him up."

"So we won't be seeing you tomorrow, then?" Nate asked cheekily.

Sam pointed her finger at him, eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Nathaniel."

He raised his arms up in defense, glancing at his girlfriend, who was biting her lip to stop from laughing. Sam just shook her head and sighed, waved, and then left.

"She's so fun to get angry. She gets so Mom-ish."

"Well someone has to be responsible."

"Says the woman who is working overtime on a case she gets to charge a hundred dollars or more per hour for?"

"Well that's different, it's my job. If you only you knew how irresponsible I was in my _life, _Nate."

"Are you teasing me, really?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Now just sit here and be quiet, I need to finish reading through this."

So he did.

For the next half hour, he sat in the chair in front of her desk, pretending to be immersed in his phone. All the while, though, he was looking up at her. The pen that she was chewing on, and the way that her legs were curled under her on her swivel chair, the one that didn't stop moving when she fidgeted. It was odd to think that he was at peace, that he wasn't sleepy, that he was perfectly content to just sit here and watch his girlfriend read through a case as it got darker and colder beyond the glass window.

Finally she groaned, slammed the file shut again, and got up to stretch. "I can't think anymore," she proclaimed.

"When do you go to court?"

"Three weeks."

"You've got time," he said, standing.

"I know, but I have other cases to work on before them."

"You've got time," he repeated, holding the door open. "Come on, let's go. Grab your coat."

April didn't put up much argument, grabbing her dark navy peacoat and putting it on as she made her way through the door. "How far is your car parked?"

"Which reminds me," he followed her into the hallway. "You have your own parking space?"

"No I don't!"

"You do," he said. "It says 'Hayden' on it."

"Yeah," April answered, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers. "For my dad."

"That would make sense," he commented.

"Wouldn't it?"

"Stop mocking me."

"I'm sorry; you just make it _so_ easy."

"Remind me again why I love you?"

"Because I'm just so irresistible?" she asked cheekily. He looked down at her, smiling, and kissed her. She let go of his hand and wrapped both of hers around his neck, his hands automatically going to her waist, pulling her closer. Their six-inch-height difference was minimized somewhat by her heels, but she was still standing on her tip-toes, trying to get as close as she could.

Finally pulling away, breathless, she finally said, "That will never get old."

"I sure hope not."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're not doing anything tonight?" Lorelai asked her youngest daughter as Georgie came down the stairs, DVDs in hand.<p>

Her daughter glanced up at her in surprise. "Um, no. Why would I?"

"Well you're finally home after a couple of months, and your dad and I just thought that you'd be spending tonight out."

"Out with whom? What sort of a life do you guys think I live, anyways?" Georgie asked.

"We have people coming over for dinner."

"OH. Curious. I'm interested, tell me who," she leaned over the gleaming wooden railing. As if to emphasize her point, she tilted her head towards her mother and widened her eyes.

"Attorney General and his wife. With your father now the Senate Majority Leader, they can't keep up the animosity. It's not good for Washington and all of that. The point is, Marissa Hammond and I teamed up to get this dinner together, and I wasn't expecting you _or _Will to be home tonight, but you both are."

"Will and I can go out if you want. I think- actually yeah, we haven't had some sibling bonding time in a while. Maybe we can even- hey, here's an idea! We can drive up to Boston and stay with April for a couple of days."

Lorelai stared at her daughter. "Will just got back from Boston."

"Will just spent the last three weeks studying for finals holed up in his room. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a quick two-day trip to see April?" Georgie responded.

"Well you can ask him," her mother replied doubtfully. "It's only six-thirty, so I don't see the problem. But the Hammonds will be here in about a half an hour. Are you sure they don't want to stay? They have a son, Wesley, who April has wanted to set you up with for the longest time."

"No thanks, Mom. Not into some Romeo and Juliet romance."

Lorelai was taken aback. "I am the last person to judge you for whom you fall in love with."

For a moment, Georgie wanted to tell her mother. Confess the lying and the hiding and how it felt to be falling for this perfect, wonderful boy who didn't even know who she really was.

But then she remembered that he was coming _here _and she needed to leave.

That's what it had come to: escaping from her own home.

"Here, Mom," she thrust the DVDs in her hand at her mother. "I have to go pack." Then, running up the stairs, she started calling out for her brother to pack his clothes and _quick. _

They were out of the house in fifteen minutes.

"Can you explain this to me? I'm confused," Will said from the passenger seat.

"I just missed April, that's all."

"Oh shut _up. _You were going to have a Downton Abbey marathon tonight."

"Can you not judge my love of old British period dramas?"

"Georgie, I judge everything that you do."

"I know, because I do stupid things all the time, don't I?"

"Pretty much," he laughed.

"That's not fair," she said, suddenly serious.

"Excuse me?"

"The three of you have always treated me as your silly sister. I'm too young to actually understand Rory and April's lives, and you've always got your own thing. If you were a girl or I was a boy, it'd be easier to say that we were split into two sets of kids, you know? But it's just like-"

"Shut up, Georgie."

"See, that's what I mean!"

"No, I'm saying 'shut up' because you don't know what I feel at all, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I trust you more than anyone else in the world. Haven't you ever noticed that I always talk to you when I'm troubled? That I send you random texts with funny jokes that someone in my dorm says? It's because you're my sister and I love you. Because I think of you when something mundane happens in my life. When I bumped into Ryder Pennington, you were the first person I told. And it's not because you'd understand the significance, it's because I want you to know that I need you and I trust you. You're my sister, Georgie, and I think of you as everything _but _silly."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pout and look out the window for the rest of this car ride. Play some emo music so I can emphasize the point."

"Will," she laughed. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Nope!" he looked away. "I refuse to accept your apology because that is how horrible a brother I am."

"Will, I'm really sorry I said that."

He said nothing, just turned even further away.

"William! Will? Okay, fine if I tell you why we left the house in a hurry, will you talk to me again?"

Silence.

"It's something that no one else knows, involving a guy..."

That got his attention. "Oh, boy problems?"

"Big time."

"Does it involve you being stupid?"

She glared at him.

"Kidding! Only joking!"

So they spent the two hour car ride talking about and dissecting her situation with Wesley Hammond.

"I never thought you'd be the type of person to come up with a fake identity, I have to admit," Will said to her as he reached into the car to pull out his backpack. "Ah, how I missed Boston."

"You've only been away for two days, idiot."

"Two days that I wasn't in the same city as Isobel."

"What is it about this girl? The few times I've seen her, she's been sucking up to every adult in the vicinity. Will, she's not even that pretty."

"Do I sense disapproval?"

"Yes," his sister said, slamming the car door behind her. "You do."

They started walking up towards the front door. "You know what I don't get?"

"Why am I judging Isobel when I do the same thing? Maybe it's because I exude this sort of _natural _charm and I don't have to force people to like me..."

"_No. _Why is Nate's car in the driveway?"

"Holy crap," Georgie whispered furiously, her eyes widening. She stopped to look at Will, then at the car, and then up at the house, where the light in April's bedroom could be seen through the curtains. "You think Nate and April...?"

"It's a possibility, isn't it? I mean, did anyone ever really think that they were going to end up with anyone else?"

"Okay, well, no. But I didn't think it'd happen so soon."

"She was in a car accident. That could spur even the most stubborn into action."

"So what, in three weeks they go to fighting all the time to moving in together?"

"Oh, God," Will groaned, running his hands over his face. "Can we not talk about the, er, _physical _aspects of their relationship?"

"Shut up, as if you're a virgin."

"I'm seventeen; of course I'm not a virgin!"

"I'm nineteen, and I am," she fixed him with a cool gaze.

"Well, this is awkward," he said, dropping his hands and turning away. "Do we go inside?"

"Where else do we go?"

"Home!"

She spluttered. "Are _you _willing to drive two hours back to Connecticut?"

"No," he paused. "What about Rory's?"

"Fuck no. New York is _four_ hours away. And it's a Friday night, so there'll be traffic. Plus, parking's a mess in the city."

"So we have no choice but to go inside?"

"There is _no way in hell_ that I am going inside."

"They're not going to bite you!"

"Yeah, they're probably too busy biting each other."

"Georgie! _Gross._"

"Can't we stay at your dorm?" she ignored Will's squeamishness.

"Can't. They closed today at 2 pm."

Georgie let out a deep sigh. "Augh. Okay fine. Let's just get this over with."

* * *

><p>"Honey!" Rory called as she walked in the door. "I'm home!""I'm in here, Ricardo," Logan answered back. She found him in the kitchen, sitting on the tiled island eating a sandwich.<p>

"You have mayo on the side of your mouth," she said, setting her bag down next to him.

"Oh could you get it for me, please, Ace."

She wiped the white sauce off of his cheek. "Why are you eating a sandwich, anyways?"

"I figured I'd give Summer the day off since Honor's got the kids. I'd also figured that you'd be home before me, but you weren't. So I had to make my own sandwich."

"What a sad, poor plight."

"Eh, it could have been worse."

"You could have had to actually go out and buy the mayonnaise and the tomatoes and the lettuce and the cheese?"

"Exactly. See, this is why I love you! You completely understand me."

"You love me because I cook for you," she said, walking over to the sink to wash her hands.

"As any good wife does. You know I'm crap in the kitchen." He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"I distinctly remember," she shivered as he made his way down her neck. "You saying that you could be the cook for the two of us. That first night when we moved in here, when I was nervous."

"Well, I had to impress you somehow, didn't I?"

"You would think the good looks, the charm, and the money would do that for you."

"One can only hope. But it takes more than that to impress you, Mrs. Huntzberger."

It had been a long time since he'd called her that as a term of endearment, instead of as a title. Whenever they went to any type of gathering, she was always introduced as "Mrs. Huntzberger." But Logan hadn't called her that in a long time.

She turned around to face him and pushed him back so she wasn't cornered by the kitchen sink and the counter anymore. "I have to tell you something."

He blinked at her sudden seriousness. "What's wrong, Rory?"

She wasn't sure what it was, the way the light was hitting him, or the smile on his face, or that _look _in his eye that meant that he genuinely believed every word he was saying to her, as stupid as they were, but she just blurted it out. "I'm pregnant."

"You're-," he blinked again. "What?"

"I'm pregnant. With child. There's a bun in my oven. We're having a baby."

"A baby."

"A baby."

"The kind with the ten tiny fingers and the ten tiny toes? Like the three we already have?"

"Do you need to sit down?"

"Yeah." Of all things, he somehow managed to pull himself back onto the kitchen island. "I'm going to be a dad again," Logan murmured breathlessly.

"To be fair, you've been a dad since Lydia was born, but that's only if you're being technical. I didn't think you were being technical, but maybe you are, and I'm sorry for bursting your bubble-"

"Ace. Rory. We're going to have a baby!"

This time, when she looked up at him, he was grinning. It was a smile that lit up his face, a true, genuine, _Logan-_smile, the likes of which she hadn't seen in about a day.

But somehow this one was brighter.

"We're going to have a baby!"

* * *

><p>AN: YEAH, SO SHE'S PREGNANT. WHATWHATWHATOHMYGOD. Yeah! I know the people who voted against it were larger in number, but dude. I'm the author and this has been planned since chapter five of TCR. Anyways!

Happy New Year! Watch Downton Abbey. :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note at the bottom. **

* * *

><p>"Do you remember how, when we first met, you didn't like me?"<p>

Rory raised her head to look up at her husband. "Seriously?" she asked incredulously. "That is a very serious understatement."

"What, you mean it went deeper than mild dislike?"

"_Yes_," his wife replied heatedly, clearly getting caught up in her reminiscing. "You kissed me for the first time the _day after I met you!"_

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Rory didn't even bother to dignify that with a response.

"Aw, come on, Ace! I was already attracted to you, I just didn't know how to show it," Logan replied offhandedly. "I mean, you did kind of storm into the newsroom with a fiery presence."

At this, Rory pushed herself off the bed, turned, and sat to face him. She gave him an incredulous expression, and it took him more effort than it should have to keep from laughing. "You showed it pretty well when you kissed me."

"It was barely a peck," he defended. "Besides, you liked it."

His wife gaped at him. "You are not serious."

He shrugged.

"Logan, oh, my God," she said incredulously, making her way off the bed. She walked around to his side of the bed, and he turned to face her. When he tried to reach out and wrap his arms around her waist, she moved away and put her hands on her hips. "I did not like it!"

Logan blinked. "Okay."

"No, Logan, I did _not_ like that kiss."

"I don't believe you."

"_Why not?"  
><em>

"Well," he pushed himself off the bed, stood in front of his wife, and put his arms around her, pulling her flush against him. "For one thing, if you didn't like _that_ kiss, there is no way we'd be standing in our bedroom right now, with three kids playing downstairs and a fourth one on the way. I think you really liked that kiss; it made you think 'hey, maybe spending the rest of my life with Logan Huntzberger won't be so bad.' You're just trying to start a fight with me, and I have no idea why. So, do you wanna talk about it or are we going to continue this pointless argument?"

"I don't know," she said as she tried to push him away. He resisted, not letting his hold on her loosen, and she had no choice but to relax against him. She buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "This house is too big for a young married couple with four kids under ten."

"I quite agree."

"Of course you do. You're the one that wanted to move in the first place."

"...And this isn't really a conversation to have when we're standing up, is it?"

"I'd rather have it now, standing in the middle of our room at night instead of not talk about it for three weeks."

Since she'd broken the news about her pregnancy to him an hour ago, the reality of the situation had started to sink in for her. Until now, Logan's statement about "having options" had seemed ridiculous. It was stupid to even think of them uprooting their life in New York for no reason, instead trying to relocate and organize their lives in a completely different town.

A baby, however, changed all of that. Instead of the fury she had felt when he had initially brought up the subject, she was eager to find a solution to this new issue. Three more years running up and down staircases in the middle of the night for feedings, making sure that her baby wasn't hurt or bleeding or crying...

It just seemed to be too much.

Not to mention the other three kids they already had.

Lydia and Sophia were already involved in community sports, and either Rory or Logan would have to spend all day Saturday, plus practice days, in Central Park, watching the girls play soccer and lacrosse. Andrew, fortunately, was too young to be put in a program, but that was a problem in and of itself. He hated wasting his day watching his sisters, so the parents would invariably have to split up. The girls wanted both Rory and Logan watching them, and thus sibling rivalry already appeared in the Huntzberger household. Weekdays were hectic, what with three different school schedules, Logan's spastic office timings, and Rory's inability to manage the kids during working hours. They had Summer, but even she was getting on in age and their situation seemed to be spiraling out-of-control.

Rory Huntzberger had woken up one morning, pregnant for the fourth time, and felt like an absolute _mess. _

And Rory Huntzberger hated feeling like an absolute mess.

"I know you don't like the idea of moving from here, Ace. I mean, we have spent a decade in this house."

"It's just not feasible anymore, is it?"

"We can afford it," Logan offered. "It isn't about the money."

"I know that," Rory replied. "But this house is not meant for families with four little children."

"So you want me to look into some suburban neighborhoods?"

"Yeah," she said sorrowfully. "I think that would be best."

"Aw, come on, Ace. It'll be a good thing for us."

"I know, I know. I'm just going to need some time."

"Well, you've got about six months," he said, touching her stomach. "So maybe get used to it quickly?"

"You act like you've already started looking at houses."

Silence.

Then:

"_You've already started looking at houses?"_

"Not _houses_, specifically, but towns, some neighborhoods..."

"I can_not_ talk to you right now," Rory said, stepping away from her husband. "You need to stop doing this."

"Doing what?" Logan asked as he followed her out of the room. When she didn't reply, he just kept walking faster. "Ace! Rory, come on. Wait for me. We're supposed to talk about things, remember? _Rory_..."

* * *

><p>"I feel so tired and I don't even know why," April said as she yawned, stretching her arms out. She almost hit Nate in the face, and he put his hand up to block a potential hit.<p>

"Well its not like you weren't in a serious car accident or anything recently."

"Three weeks ago! Besides, it wasn't even major."

"You had a concussion!"

"I'm still awake, aren't I?"

"April, you are tired because your body has been through an immense amount of physical and emotional stress recently and you haven't taken any time out of your busy schedule to just sit down and take a nap."

"Hey, hey, calm down. Nate, stop freaking out," she said calmly, turning to face him. She put one hand on his face. "I'm okay."

"Yeah," he said shortly, turning back to face the TV. They settled into a comfortable silence for the next hour as the movie played, but neither was paying much attention.

April was close to knocking out. She and Nate had picked up dinner on the way back to her place, set up the take-out on her bed, and then popped in a movie. Star Wars: Episode IV was playing on the screen, but they were both lost in their own thoughts. Nate kept rubbing circles over left hand with his thumb, and April, who had snuggled up close to him and tangled her feet with his, kept trying to keep her eyes open.

"You know I love you, right?" Nate whispered into her hair.

"Hmmm," she hummed contentedly, eyes now closed. "Never forgot."

"Never?"

"Nope. That's why it hurt so much when I saw you again."

"Sorry for not being able to keep my hands off you, by the way."

"It's okay, I forgive you. Five years is a _long _time."

"It is," Nate agreed. For his part, he couldn't imagine how he had survived those rainy days in London without curling up next to the love of his life with some good tea. "Let's never go five years without talking again, okay?"

"Wasn't planning on it," April mumbled, throwing an arm around his waist and turning into him. "You smell good. And you're comfy. I think you should stay the night."

"I don't have a change of clothes."

"Sleep naked," she whispered, tightening her hold on him.

"Ape, I can't chnage, I can't do _anything_ unless you let go of me."

One eye opened first, as she looked at him cautiously. When she realized he was joking, she opened her other eye, too, blinked a few times, and then tried to sit up.

The look on her face made his heart drop into his stomach, and he felt the sudden urge to go throw up. "I know that face. That's your serious face."

"Hey, Nate?" April asked softly, maneuvering herself so that she was straddling him. He put his arms around her waist, resting them lightly on her hips. "I don't like this."

_Trust it. Trust her. _

"I hate the secrecy. I can't- I mean- I just- _God. _I have no words for how I'm feeling right now."

_Sigh of relief. _

"That's a first isn't it?" he questioned, his relief evident in his smile.

She was undeterred. "I am _happy. _I feel free and and relieved and so perfectly happy," she smiled. "And yes, it has a lot to do with you, but-"

"No, I think it's mostly just me."

"Nate," April rested her forehead against his, her hair falling around their faces. She kissed him, now fully awake, and any thoughts he had about leaving flew out of his head. "I don't want to hide this."

"April-"

"No, just hear me out, okay? I know you think- well, I know you don't trust me. I mean, you trust me enough to tell me everything that's happening in your life, you just don't trust me not to leave you. But I'm not going to. I can't afford to. That sounds selfish, I know, and I'm sorry, I just don't know how else to put it. I could say that I can't live without you, but it's not impossible. I mean, just because it's hard to breathe when you're not around doesn't mean I'm going to suffocate, is it? Bottom line is that I can't stand the thought of having to _hide _the fact that the second best part of my life is, well, a part of my life again, good God, you're the only one that can get me to stop rambling like a teenager, so please shut me up at _any _point-"

So he did. He kissed her with a purpose, finally, and she felt, again, like she was on fire.

Like she had just turned seventeen again and he had kissed her for the first time.

He managed to flip them over so that she was under him, his knees carefully placed on either side of her thighs. Her arms wrapped around his neck and brought his face only centimeters from hers.

"So the next time we see our families together, we tell them?"

"That might take some time," he whispered, the warmth of his breath on her face. "We could just break the news as we go along."

"Any specific order?"

"Not really," he kissed her neck. "See, when something important happens to me, I feel like telling you. After that, I might as well just put it on Facebook, it's so much more efficient."

"That's so," she giggled as he kissed her nose. "Immature! Nate!"

"Do you even know how long I have been waiting for you? For this?"

"Oh, about nine years or so."

"Ten, if you count the fact that your birthday is in less than six months and I spent more than two months trying to woo you."

"Woo me?"

"Yes, I wooed you."

"You did not woo me."

"I disagree," Nate said vehemently, his British accent shining through. "I distinctly remember a long rectangular box in a particular shade of blue on a very special someone's seventeenth birthday..."

"Do you also remember how you kissed me for the first time with morning breath?"

"I do not having morning breath," Nate said, rolling off of her. "You do, though."

"Excuse me! I do _not~"_

The ominous pitch of the doorbell, which echoed through April's two-story townhouse, interrupted them.

"Who in the world..." April asked in wonder, striding over to her bedroom window. As she looked down onto the path in front of her front door, she could see her baby brother's shaggy hair and her younger sister's car parked in the driveway.

It was blocking in Nate's car.

"Okay so don't panic," she said casually as she turned around to face her boyfriend. "But my siblings are in front of my house."

"You're kidding," Nate blurted out.

"Nope, they're right outside. And they seem to be arguing about something...Now Will is pointing to your car. Brilliant. They know." April buried her head in her hands, curls flying everywhere.

"Okay," Nate shrugged. "Let's go let them in then."

"What," she looked up suddenly. "I can think of ten million reasons why that is not a good idea right now."

"I don't like the idea of two teenagers standing outside our house at nearly 10 o'clock at night, Ape. I'm going to go let them in."

Without waiting for an answer, Nate hurried out of the room and down the hall. She could hear him padding down the stairs and heading towards the main entrance, and it wasn't until she heard the creak of the heavy wooden front door that it hit her.

Nate had said "_our" _house.

Well then.

* * *

><p>"Georgie did something stupid," Will blurted to his older sister as she came bounding down the stairs, tying her hair in a ponytail. When Georgie shot him a look, he shrugged and turned back to April. "In her defense, she always does stupid shit. This time it's kind of bad, though. She wants to confess but she feels as if you'd judge her."<p>

"Oh, well," April looked at Nate. "If you're going to confess something important, we might as well have our turn too."

"You go first," Georgie said eagerly, leaning back onto the couch cushions. "Driving took a lot out of me, I think I'll just sit and listen for a while. Besides, Will has some issues he'd like to talk about, too."

"If this is going to turn into sibling bonding, I can just leave," Nate spoke up. "Or go watch TV."

"No!" The Hayden girls chorused.

"Uh, okay," the young doctor said, easing into the chair closest to him. "I'll just sit quietly and listen."

"You can always give us advice," Georgie said earnestly. "You know we appreciate any and all input you have to offer."

"Georgia Hayden, what is going on with you?" April asked flatly. "You show up at my house randomly at almost 10 o'clock at night, our exhausted younger brother in tow, and then start pestering my boyfriend with questions?"

"To be fair, April, she's not exactly _pestering-"_

"Will's not _exhausted,_ exact- wait a second, _boyfriend?"_

"So you two _are_ back together? Yes!" Will fist-punched the air. "My plan worked."

"Wait, what?"

"It _was_ your idea! I knew it!"

"Everybody, shut up!" Nate yelled over the Hayden siblings. Instantly, the three brunettes wide eyes were on him. "Okay maybe I could have been a little bit more elegant about that."

"Yeah, especially considering it's because of me that my sister is even looking at you right now."

"Thank you, Will," April said honestly. "It's good to know you're making full use of Harvard's extensive campus."

"Are the words coming out of your mouth in a different language? Because I do not hear a 'thank you' in that sentence."

"Hey," Nate hit Will's shoulder. "Behave, she's still your older sister."

"Good God, when did you guys get married and get _old?" _Georgie asked, looking horrified.

"Maybe you don't realize they're acting their age because you're so immature, sis."

Georgie's face fell.

"Wait, what? Does this lead back into whatever it was that you had to tell us, G?" April asked her sister. There were a thousand possibilities running through her mind, and April's imagination ran rampant when she realized her younger sister had driven all this way to confide in her. This was clearly not a matter that their parents could be involved in, but at the same time, Georgie clearly felt trapped enough to come to an adult.

Come to think of it, she did feel slightly old now.

"Hey, Nate, do you think you can get me some coffee?" Georgie asked sweetly. Nate, however, was undeterred.

"No. You can get it yourself. And if you want me gone, then need I remind you how quick you were to have me stay...?"

She sighed. "Fine. _Fine_. Do you guys remember Wesley Hammond?"

"Nerdy looking guy your age who goes to Brown and interned at my New York office? Yeah, it rings a bell."

"His mom's the one that hired me," Nate added. "We keep in touch, why."

"Um," the 19-year-old said slowly, suddenly shy. "We keep in touch, too."

Silence.

Then:

"Okay," April said blankly. "So you made a new friend?"

"More like we're kind of seeing each other on and off," Georgie tried to explain awkwardly. "I mean, we meet up whenever we're in the same city and we talk when we're not, and-"

"-And you're basically in a relationship with the guy I tried to set you up with in the summer?"

"No," Will said gleefully. "Wait for it, listen closely. Really. This is the best part."

Both April and Nate ignored him.

"I, er. Well, that is to say, I may have lied a little bit about what my name was."

"You did what?" April shouted, standing up. "Georgia!"

Nate, in contrast, was calm. "Oh, this is getting good. What did you lie about?"

Georgie looked away. "My name."

"You- what?"

"He doesn't know I'm your sister. He thinks my name is Katie, that I have no relationship to the Hartford Haydens, and that I am the aunt of a four-year-old named Drew."

"Oh, my God. Wait, we bumped into him, didn't we Nate? Over the summer, at Serendipity 3?"

"Did we?" Nate crinkled his brow. When the memory came back to him, he straightened. "We did. That was the day you fought with me about my job and then we-"

"Younger brother in the room," Will pointed to himself. "Don't wanna know."

"I was _going _to say 'then we had our biggest fight ever at Rory and Logan's,' but your gutter-mind is duly appreciated."

"Urgh," the teenage boy groaned, dropping his head. "I just don't even want to know."

"Can we get back to my irresponsible younger sister here, please?" April snapped. "Georgie, you lied about who you were in the hopes that, what, he would never find out? Did you even think of what happened to him if you actually started to feel deeply for him?"

"I didn't think I'd ever see him again! It was supposed to be one stupid meeting at an airport and then poof! Out of my life forever."

"The boy is the son of Dad's most annoying ally on Capitol Hill, G. Did you really think you'd get rid of him that easily?"

"It isn't stupid to hope, is it?"

"Of course it is," Will answered, kicking his shoes off and stretching his legs over Georgie's lap. "Emotions are tricky things, especially when mixed in with pre-existing relationships."

"Oh, you mean like the love triangle currently forming between you and Isobel and Ryder Pennington?"

"_Pennington," _Nate asked hoarsely. "Sorry, did someone just say 'Pennington'"

"I did," the younger boy replied, raising his hand shamelessly. "God, he's a cocky asshole."

"No less than you," April shot at him. Directing her attention at Nate, she asked, "Are you okay, do you need some water?"

"I'm fine," he held up a hand. "I just don't like hearing that name."

"You and me both, bro," Will added. "You and me both."

The four of them were silent for a few minutes as they pondered the turn the night had taken, but April broke the silence when she picked up Will's shoes and told him to follow her. Yawning, he walked with her into one of her guest bedrooms on the first floor and collapsed onto the bed as soon as it came into view. Georgie headed upstairs to the other guest bedroom, too tired to drag even her duffel bag with her, and April came back to the living room to find Nate looking up the stairs and rubbing his eyes.

"I'm not going home tonight, am I?" he asked her with a rueful smile.

With a whispered 'no' and a shake of her head, she took him by the hand and led him to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I can try, maybe, to explain to you why it took so long to get this done. I had college stuff and senior stuff and love life stuff and friendship stuff and you know, I didn't need to create a world when I liked the one I was living in.

I still love you guys, and I'm back.

...if anyone is still reading this.

I graduate on the 21st of June and then after that I go to London and India; I won't be back in the States until the 19th of August. Internet will be sporadic until I get back, but after that I have a whole free month before college starts. Yay for quarter-system state schools!

(:


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Extremely long Author's Note at the bottom, look out!**

* * *

><p>"So," Will said at breakfast the next morning, as Nate shuffled into the kitchen. "I just got a text from Rory."<p>

"What does it say?" Nate asked, pouring himself a glass of coffee. It was only 7 o'clock in the morning, so he had no clue why Will was already up and running. The 17-year-old had made himself pancakes by helping himself to all of the amenities in April's kitchen, and Nate couldn't help but scoop the remaining extras onto his plate. He had to get to the hospital at 9 for a twenty-four hour shift; breakfast was a necessity.

"She wants the four of us over for dinner tonight, says they have some news."

"I can't come, I've got to go to the hospital."

"She's specifically asked for you, though."

"By name? How does she know I'm here?"

"Well, she doesn't know about this recent development," Will said, gesturing towards Nate with his fork, "But considering you and April 'live' like, five miles apart, she probably assumes we could pick you up on the way to New York."

"Right," Nate sighed. "I can't go, though, I have work. Have fun on that four hour drive."

"It's not four hours, is it?" Will asked in surprise. "Besides, I wouldn't be the one driving. April would be."

Nate stared at the younger boy.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that!"

"Your sister was in a _car accident, _she had a concussion for _six days, _her car is _totaled, _and you want her to drive for four hours to go to New York? I don't think so."

"...Okay. I will drive."

"Yeah, you damn well better drive." Nate finished off the last of his first cup of coffee and got up to refill it. Will shoveled the last of his pancakes into his mouth, put his plate in the sink, and then left the kitchen as soon as he could, passing April on his way out.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"What? Oh, hey, good morning," Nate said, turning around.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he shook his head. "Yeah, no, I'm fine."

She didn't really believe him, but she'd known him for long enough to know that this wasn't the time to press the issue. He was smiling at her as he walked over, but his eyes were guarded and full of worry, putting her on edge.

He reached out and pulled her into his hold, wrapping his arms around his waist. She tilted her head up in expectation of the kiss, but just before his lips touched hers, he stopped.

"You did brush your teeth before coming down, right? Morning breath tends to be a problem with you."

"Nathaniel!"

"No need to get mad, Ape, I'm only joking."

She didn't say anything; just put her arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

It escalated quickly, and by the time Georgie walked into the kitchen five minutes later, April was sitting on the kitchen counter, and Nate was standing between her thighs with her legs wrapped around his waist. April's hands seemed to be trying to take his shirt off, but he was more interested in getting even closer to April, which Georgie didn't think was possible.

"I don't know whether to be happy that you guys are doing this instead of fighting, or cringing because _my eyes burn."_

Instead of springing apart like she thought they'd do, they broke apart slowly. Nate turned around without letting go of his girlfriend, and all her sister did was smile.

"Good morning to you, too, _Kate_."

"Oh God," she groaned loudly. "Stop it!"

"You should call him," April told her, unable to keep the smile of her face. She started squirming. "Nate, stop tickling me."

"You were never ticklish before," Nate laughed at her. "This is amazing. What the hell happened to you?"

"I've always been ticklish, I just never let you actually _tickle _me! Stop it, Nate!" She jumped off the kitchen counter and ran around to the other side of the island, one hand up in the air as a warning to him. "Don't come any closer."

"Guys stop it," Georgie said. "You act like you're fifteen years old."

"It's called the Honeymoon Phase, Georgie. In the early stages of the relationship, when you don't have to worry about real life setting in yet, you just enjoying each other's company. You, of course, wouldn't know that considering the only relationship you've had has consisted of casually dating a boy who thinks that you aren't the daughter of his father's opponent on Capitol Hill. I can understand if it's a little out of your-"

"You know what, it is too early in the morning for this sanctimonious bullshit, okay? Have fun sucking each other's faces off."

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving April and Nate to themselves again.

Nate watched her leave the kitchen and then turned around to look at April, who was glaring at him, her arms crossed over her chest. Her feet were hidden behind the kitchen island, but he would bet anything that she was tapping one of her feet in agitation. His heart sank down to his stomach.

"What?"

"That was really harsh."

"Seriously?" he said, barely containing his incredulity. "Are you- April do you know what she did?"

"She's an adult," April shrugged. "It's her problem. You and I both know Wes," she added. "It's not like he's going to blackmail her or anything. She'll confess the truth to him, they'll break up or whatever, and she'll get over it. Or maybe she won't, but that is not our problem. Actually no, let me rephrase that. That will be my problem, but if you don't want it to be yours, it doesn't have to be."

Nate stood his ground. April's M.O in these situations was to pull rank by pointing out that it was _her _family involved. It wasn't going to work this time. "I care about your sister. I care about everyone in your family, not just because you love them, April, but because I have actually been able to have my own relationships with them. In case you've forgotten, Georgie and I talked all the time, while we were together and after we broke up. She didn't care that I wasn't your boyfriend anymore. She'd grown up knowing me and I was her friend, too. What I said to her just now...I wasn't doing that as your boyfriend. I was doing that as her friend. It had nothing to do with you. Not everything involving me and your family has to include you."

She stared at him in silence, her gaze boring into him, but he held it. He didn't blink for thirty seconds, and just as his eyes started to water, her gaze fell.

"You don't get to hurt my baby sister."

He started to speak up but April held a finger up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tiptoed to close the distance.

"I guess it's okay if you have a fight with a close family friend, though, right?"

He smiled. "Yeah. But you can't keep-"

"I know," she interrupted softly. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he sighed. "I guess we're just going to have to get used to this. Five years is a long time."

"_Way_ too long," she said suggestively. "What are you doing today?"

Reluctantly, Nate pulled out of her embrace. "I have to be at work in forty-five minutes. I should probably go take a shower."

"Rory wants us all over for dinner. Can you make it?"

"I cannot, actually. My shift doesn't end until tomorrow morning."

April groaned, dreading the thought of having to spend the night alone. It was slightly odd, since she'd never been clingy, but she was _scared_. Since she was sixteen years old, Nate had been a dream. Sure, they'd been together, but most of that time had been spent physically apart. Then they had broken up, with absolutely no contact for half a decade. What little time they'd spent in Boston, trying to be friends, it wasn't enough. One date and one night in his arms wasn't enough. She liked this, waking up to his smile and his mussed up hair, seeing him in the kitchen when she came downstairs. It had literally been less than a day, and she was already addicted to the sight of him in her house.

She _loved _it.

What if it just disappeared?

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," April shook her head softly. "It's nothing. I don't have to go to the office today, so we could probably just leave in an hour or so."

"Good idea. Bring back some leftovers for me," Nate replied absentmindedly, pressing a kiss to her hair as he made his way out of the kitchen. "I'm going to go take a shower. You're feeling okay, right?"

"Yes, Nate," she said, smiling softly. "I'm fine."

She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured some coffee into it, desperate for the rich, bitter taste. April hadn't lived with her parents for a while now, but if Lorelai had managed to teach her children one thing, it was that coffee was not just a want, but a necessity. It was the Elixir of Life.

"Okay," he said, before disappearing to go upstairs.

April slid her mug onto the kitchen island and grabbed a stool to sit on. She slumped over the marble counter, her head resting on her hands.

If she had everything she'd ever wanted, why did she still feel so horrible?

* * *

><p>"Hello!" Georgie said when Logan opened the door, a bright sunny smile on her face. Her blonde curls glinted in the sunlight, and Logan could see that she'd taken advantage of the unusually warm weather by wearing a dress. It was much nicer than what she usually wore, he noted. "We are here for dinner. And also the five hours before dinner, because we're way early."<p>

Logan just laughed, opening the door wider so that she, Will, and April could make their way through. The latter exchanged a glance with him, and he could see that she was exhausted from the drive over.

"Did you drive?" he asked April.

"No. Will offered," she replied, the surprise evident in her tone. "It was thoughtful of him."

"Yeah, I bet. But why do you look so tired?"

"The driver gets to pick the music," she said tiredly. "I have a horrible headache, and I need a nap."

"Okay, just go upstairs. I'll tell Rory and the kids not to bother you when they get home."

"They aren't here?"

"No, they needed some time alone with their mom, so she took them out for some hot chocolate or something. Besides, I knew you guys were coming," Logan added. "Someone had to be here to welcome you."

The kids _did _need some time alone with their mother. When he and Rory had decided to invite her siblings and Nate over for dinner to break the news, they'd realized that they'd have to tell the kids first. And so, the two of them had gathered Lydia, Sophia, and Andrew in the living and had explained how, soon, there would be an addition to the family. Lydia hadn't reacted much, by now almost jaded at the announcements. Sophia, who had gotten an annoying younger brother after the last time she'd had that conversation, was none too excited either.

Andrew, on the other hand, was bouncing up and down. He was only four, so he didn't understand much, but he did know that he could be getting a _brother _for his birthday.

Logan didn't really want to think about planning joint birthday parties just yet, but the idea of having another son was, he had to admit, incredibly appealing. He'd always wanted a brother, but the closest thing he'd had was Nate.

Speaking of...

"Where's Nate?" he asked, leaning out the front door to check the street. "Is he finding parking or something?"

"Oh, no, he had to go into work at nine, so he told me to tell you that he'll call later or maybe come next weekend. Why, was there something important you needed to talk to him about?"

Logan stepped back into the house, shutting the door behind him. The house was silent, what little noise there was came from the kitchen, where Georgie and Nate were going through the fridge. He went straight for the stairs, headed for his office, and April followed.

"Yeah, there was, actually. We're selling the house, and I was wondering if he'd know anyone who could want it. We can sell it for a higher price if we have a buyer before it's listed."

"Oh."

At April's weak response, Logan stopped and turned to look at her. She was in shock, clearly processing the big news.

"Surprised?"

"You know what? Not really, actually. It's a really big house, and there's five of you. If you had any more kids, you would have to move out. How would you be able to keep track of where they were? A game of hide-and-seek here would literally be any parent's nightmare."

"Thinking about being a parent, are we?" Logan chuckled as they continued up the stairs. April didn't answer until they reached one of the guest bedrooms, but once he heard her reply, he was glad she'd waited until they sat down. Her phone was out, and she was smiling widely, clearly happy with what she'd just read.

"What?" Logan asked, clueless.

"Nothing," April looked up, trying to bite down on her smile. It wasn't working, so she stopped trying. "Yes, I am thinking about being a parent. Maybe in two years or so."

"Seriously?"

She could see her brother-in-law doing the math in his head. "That would mean you'd have to start dating your husband, like, _yesterday."_

April burst into laughter. "A little longer than that, actually," she told him, her eyes filled with mirth. "I met him before yesterday, I can assure you."

"What, that's impossible!"

"It's really not. It's _really _not."

"The only way that you're telling the truth is if you met some guy off your favorite TV show in Starbucks or if you and Nate got- _holy shit_, you and Nate got back together?"

April bit her lip and looked up at him through her lashes, unable to hide her smile. "Yeah, we kind of did. We wanted to tell everyone together at Christmas, but then Georgie and Will ended up on my doorstep last night and we figured we might as well just let the cat out of the bag."

"April, that's great!"

"Thank you. I'm very happy."

"Yeah, this family's getting a lot of good news lately."

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

Logan paused, unsure. He and Rory _had _decided to tell everyone together, but the family was so big that such a small task became a very difficult goal to accomplish. April and Nate hadn't been able to give their big news the way they'd wanted to, and it _was_ big news. He knew how those two had tried, and failed, to live without the other, and while he'd been against their relationship when they were teenagers and had first gotten together, the story was completely different now.

Just as his situation was, he realized. Times change, people change, and sometimes life throws you curveballs. You may not have been expecting another kid, he told himself, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a really good thing. Besides, Rory was happy. What more did he need out of life than his wife's happiness?

"Rory's pregnant," he said, his voice composed.

For a moment, April didn't respond. She blinked a few times as she stared at him, but before he knew it, she was wrapping herself around him, his eyesight clouded with curly black hair.

"Oh, my god," his sister-in-law screeched, launching herself from her spot on the bed into his arms. "I'm going to have another niece or nephew? Oh, my God, this is _great!"_

Yeah, it really was.

* * *

><p>"Rory, I don't get off work until tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, I don't know what you want me to say," Nate said into his phone, ducking into the nearest on-call room. He had been at work for twelve hours before Rory called him, bursting into a full-on rant about the fact that he was shirking his social and familial obligations. He had five minutes, tops, before someone came and yelled at him for being on the phone and not tending to a patient, but he figured he could risk it, considering that Rory sounded like she was going to burst an artery.<p>

"I want you to say that you will be here exactly four hours after you get off work, Nathaniel! It was important to me that you be here, and it's not like you weren't _with _my sister this morning, so you have no excuse!"

"...except for the fact that I'm working?"

"Ugh, work. That's all you ever do, do you know how worried we are that you're not going out and living your life properly? At your age, I was married. With _children."_

"That is brand new information, Ro," Nate deadpanned, collapsing onto the nearest bed. He was tired; running around the hospital, tending to patients and trying to make sure no one died on your watch was _exhausting. _No amount of years in school could prepare someone for the sheer amount of stamina needed to be able to survive surgical residency.

"You know what else is brand new information? You and my sister are back together, and neither of you bothered to tell me yourself. _Logan _told me. April was asleep, and you're not even here!"

There was a knock at the door.

"Alright, Rory, I have to go," Nate said hastily, pulling the phone away from his ear.

"No, Nathaniel!

"_Yes_, Rory. We will talk later about this, I promise. Or, better yet, just ask April to give you all of the details. Guys don't talk about this shit with each oth-"

"I am _pregnant," _Rory said firmly. She continued, correctly anticipating Nate's silent response. "You will come to New York tomorrow, which you have to do anyway to pick up April, since Georgie and Will are going back to Hartford. We are going to celebrate this new addition to the family, as well as the fact that you and April have gotten your shit together, and you will do this for me, because I am not above pulling the 'I am an expecting mother' card, do you understand me?"

"I'll be there," Nate said immediately. He couldn't help the smile on his face, though, with the news that we would technically have another niece or nephew. It was exciting news, too, considering the fact that he'd already started thinking about what he was going to do now. If he married, April, he would actually be this child's uncle. "Congratulations, Rory. This is really, really great news."

But he was getting ahead of himself.

Wasn't he?

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** First off, let me say that I'm _so_ incredibly sorry. If anyone is still reading this, feel free to send me reviews or PMs about how horrible I am for ignoring this story for so long. I do love my characters, and I wasn't planning on just leaving it here. It just happened. It's a horrible excuse, I know, but it's all I have to offer you.

A lot has happened since I last updated, as is always the case with me. _Oh, Meha, why is your life so complicated? _You must all be wanting to know. Well, I have had a very emotionally abusive relationship with my GPA, and after getting into colleges that I didn't really want to go to, I decided that I'd rather go to a community college than some four-year school that wasn't going to do anything for me. I spent this past semester studying my ass off, and it has paid off, giving me a pretty good chance of transfer.

If you're wondering why I didn't update this summer, well, I spent eight weeks out of the country, roaming the UK and India, and sorry, I didn't really feel like writing.

Winter break is now almost four weeks in, and yes, I have been writing. Those of you that have me on Author Alert probably know that I'm writing this new fic called Therapy, for the Vampire Diaries. It's an AU/AH featuring Klaus and Caroline, who are, in my opinion, the two best characters on the show. The Klaroline fandom has been incredibly welcoming to me, so it's hard to not want to contribute with my own writing, but I promise not to let TGWP suffer at the hands of Therapy from now on.

This update can be attributed to a particularly kind review left by **lizard84. **I actually slammed out this entire chapter today, and while it's not my best, I wanted to give you guys something.

Lastly, feel free to follow/send me anon hate/love/update soon messages on my Tumblr account, _givemeklaus. _Of course, you can always drop me a PM or a review here on FFnet itself.

Happy Reading! Apologies for the long Author's Note, and also, please do review!

Meha aka The-Passionate-Sun


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